Ryanair said it would not be reviewing analyst estimates for the current quarter or for the fiscal year despite the crisis in the air transport industry.
In a briefing to markets earlier today, chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary said although bookings were down by 20 per cent last Wednesday and Thursday - the days immediately after the attacks on the World Trade Center - overall bookings for the week were down by 10 per cent.
"Whilst we remain cautious about the current trading environment, we see no reason - at this time - to change the consensus range of analyst estimates for either the current quarter or this fiscal year," Mr O’Leary said.
"The immediate impact of last week's events upon Ryanair were limited. Out of a total schedule of 1,800 flights over the past seven days, we were obliged to cancel only 16, and only half of those were due to the cumulative impact of additional security measures".
He said bookings have already returned to normal levels and that the airline expects to recover last week's slippage over the coming days with a number of seat promotions planned.
Ryanair has more than euro 700 million in cash and is well placed to weather any economic or traffic downturn, Mr O'Leary said.
"To the extent that an economic downturn or recession is the consequence of last week's events, we expect that this will continue to enhance Ryanair's growth prospects [as people become more price conscious for both business and leisure travel], albeit that this growth may be generated at lower fares and yields," he said.
"Obviously any of these predictions will be subject to the impact and outcome of any military response by the US and its allies, but in the interim Ryanair remains cautiously optimistic that current trading and our immediate future prospects will not be affected".