Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has issued a warning of a potential 10% fare increase this summer, citing delayed delivery of new Boeing planes as the reason. O’Leary announced that only 40-45 out of the 57 Boeing 737 Max 8200’s that the airline was expecting may arrive in time for the summer season, leaving them with a shortage of aircraft.

The warning comes as Boeing is facing scrutiny and quality control concerns following an incident in January that resulted in an emergency landing of an Alaska Airlines flight. This has led to capacity constraints for some airlines, as they too are experiencing issues with aircraft availability.

Ryanair had originally forecasted carrying 205 million passengers by March 2025, but may have to revise that number down to 200 million due to the shortage of aircraft. O’Leary has criticized Boeing’s quality control standards and suggested there has been confusion in communication from the company.

A Boeing spokesperson expressed regret over the impact of the delays on Ryanair and promised high quality aircraft delivery. However, despite some other airlines experiencing fare hikes, O’Leary’s proposed 10% increase is higher than average due to Ryanair’s low-cost carrier base.

With the potential fare increase looming, passengers may need to brace themselves for higher prices this summer. Stay tuned for further developments on this story as it unfolds.