Ryanair has more than doubled its annual loss forecast and cut its January traffic estimate by one-third in response to travel restrictions imposed after the emergence of the Omicron variant. The Irish airline, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, said it expected a net loss of between €250m (£212m) and €450m in the year to the end of March. That compares with a previous forecast of a loss of €100m–€200m. The airline cut its December passenger forecast range to 9 million–9.5 million, down from 10 million–11 million. Ryanair blamed last weekend’s French and German ban on UK arrivals and the suspension of all EU flights to and from Morocco. The airline cut its January traffic forecast to from 10 million passengers to between 6 million and 7 million. It said it would wait until next month to revise its February and March schedules, “as more scientific information becomes available on the Omicron variant, its impact on hospitalisations, European population and/or travel restrictions”. Ryanair said it now expected to fly just under 100 million passengers in the year to the end of March. “These figures are hugely sensitive to any further positive or negative Covid news flow,” it said.