Ryanair profits drop as Iran war puts off passengers and lifts fuel costs

Ryanair's profits have fallen sharply as war in the Middle East sent jet fuel prices soaring and customers reluctant to book flights.The Irish airline's pre-tax profits dropped 34% to €593m (£503m) between April and June while sales were flat as the company was forced to cut fares to stimulate demand.Ryanair also said it expects summer fares to be slightly lower than last year due to "consumer hesitancy" around air travel.The price of fuelling a plane has jumped since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February and while Ryanair said it had "hedged" or struck deals for the most future fuel costs, those not included in these arrangements had more than doubled. crude oil prices hit $90 (£67) a barrel for the first time in a month on Monday, before falling back slightly, after a weekend of intense exchanges of fire between the US and Iran.Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — an essential route for global oil and gas supplies — has ground to a halt. An interim peace deal last month brought some respite to oil and energy prices, but they spiked again as negotiations broke down and fighting resumed.The airline warned that its results for the year will be "highly sensitive" to external factors such as conflict escalation in the Middle East and Ukraine as well as the price of unhedged jet fuel.