Ryanair has issued its second profit warning in four months. 

The Irish carrier said it now expects profits after tax to be €1 billion lower, going from a predicted €1.2-1.1bn to €1.1-1.0bn. This is despite Ryanair expecting to carry more passengers than forecast. 

The airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, warned that the airline could not rule out further warnings due to uncertainty about Brexit and security.  

He also said that there was too much capacity on short-haul flights in Europe, adding that customers were enjoying ‘record lower air fares.’ 

“There is short haul over-capacity in Europe this winter, but Ryanair continues to pursue our price passive/load factor active strategy to the benefit of our customers who are enjoying record lower air fares. 

“While we have reasonable visibility over forward quarter four bookings, we cannot rule out further cuts to air fares and/or slightly lower full-year guidance if there are unexpected Brexit or security developments which adversely impact yields between now and the end of March.” 

The airline had previously warned about its profits in October 2018, and also had been named the UK’s worst short-haul airline for the sixth year running.

Strikes by staff during the summer season forced it to cancel hundreds of flights for which it has refused to offer passengers compensation, and surveyors Which? reported that thousands of respondents said they would never fly with the airline again. 

The impact of these strikes was reflected in Ryanair’s half-year results in October, when it reported a 7% fall in profits, although the airline was also affected by industrial action by air traffic controllers.