Irish no-frills airline Ryanair nosedived into the red in the first quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic decimated air travel demand and grounded fleets worldwide, the group said Monday.

Dublin-based Ryanair suffered a loss after taxation of 185 million euros ($216 million) in the three months to the end of June, or first quarter of its financial year, compared with net profit of 243 million euros in the same part of 2019, it said in a statement.

Passenger numbers fell by 99 percent to just 0.5 million people compared with 42 million a year earlier, while more than 99 percent of the airline's fleet remained on the tarmac.

"During this time, group airlines repatriated customers and operated rescue flights for different EU governments, as well as flying a series of medical emergency/PPE flights across Europe."AFP