A hard Brexit could ground Ryanair planes in the UK for up to three weeks but would be survivable for the Irish budget airline, chief executive Michael O’Leary said ahead of a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels on Wednesday.

“We can ground aeroplanes for a week, two weeks, three weeks. It would be very painful,” Mr O’Leary said in Berlin. “But we are a big company, we can survive.”

Mr O’Leary had warned last month that there were no assurances that an agreement would be in place enabling flights to continue after Britain exits the European Union next March.

Germany

He said he did not expect Ryanair to grow in Germany next year, after closing its bases in the northern city of Bremen and at Weeze near Dusseldorf.

“Our traffic will be flat,” Mr O’Leary said.

He reiterated that he was confident that Ryanair could resolve its dispute with German unions representing pilots and cabin crew. He said talks were making progress and that he did not expect further strikes in the coming weeks. – Reuters