Ryanair Holdings Plc scrapped 82 flights on Sunday, the start of a six-week program of cancellations it’s making as it seeks to reduce a backlog of crew vacation required by Irish regulators before the end of the year.

“We have messed up in the planning of pilot holidays and we’re working hard to fix that,” Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement Saturday.

In the statement, the Dublin-based carrier said it expected to cancel 40 to 50 flights daily, “with a slightly higher number this weekend.”

Ryanair will offer refunds or alternative flights to affected customers over the period, it said in a statement on Friday, adding that the cancellations, which amount to about 2 percent of its network, won’t have an impact on earnings in September and October. Between 308,000 and 385,000 passengers could be impacted over the period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg based on the airline’s passenger statistics.

Ryanair is mandated by the Irish Aviation Authority to bring time off for the staff in line with the calendar year from Jan. 1, requiring it to distribute the backlog before the end of the year. That’s left the carrier without enough pilots and flight attendants to man its full fleet of Boeing Co. 737s until the start of its winter timetable in November.

SOURCE Bloomberg, Read more..