The profits of Ryanair reviewed a considerable drop of almost 50% from April to June on account of the lower summer fares that directly hit their earnings. More passengers flew with the budget carrier this summer, but the money earned was not up to the expectations. The company is battling with the issues related to the air traffic control and the recent effects from a Microsoft IT outage.

Europe’s biggest airline, Ryanair, has just announced some really sorry face of its profits. Profits posted by this company nearly halved between April and June. In three months, total profits were at €360 million or £303 million, which is 46% lower than last year, the same time. Earnings from Ryanair weren’t up to the target set by experts, even though it flew more people. As a result, Ryanair shares fell by 12.5% on Monday.

What is causing this dip? The summer fares this year are turning out to be much cheaper as against what they charged last year. Ryanair has said that the average cost of a ticket has fallen from €49.07 to €41.93. More passengers travelled utilizing their services toward Ryanair—55.5 million this spring, a 10% increase against a similar period last year. However, the fall in ticket prices meant the overall revenue for the company increased by just 1% to €363 billion.

Ryanair’s reduced profits also caused negative sentiment over other airlines. EasyJet shares sank 7.5 percent, Wizz Air dropped 6.3 percent, and IAG—owner of British Airways and Iberia—were down 3.3 percent. Elsewhere, after a Microsoft IT outage last Friday, 5,000 flight cancellations had hit more than 100 airports and air carriers in recent days.

Ryanair expects this summer season to be still busy and states that this time, around more number of passengers will be on board. It, in fact, predicts its passenger numbers to be up by 8% for the whole of the financial year. However, the airline also added that ticket prices are not as high as the airline had anticipated. Fares are expected to lie way below last summer during the July-September period.

One of the big reasons for the slump in fares: now too many customers are leaving it late to book. The change in booking patterns slams the prices that airlines can charge for tickets. Jet2 said customers may also face small price rises this summer as it adapts to this later booking pattern.

Along with these, there have been air traffic control issues that the airline has been plagued with as well. Ryanair reported that the last ten days in June also indicated a falling capacity of air traffic control in Europe. The issues resulted in many flight delays and cancellations during this period, particularly of early morning flights. Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said the European air traffic control system is something from another age and needs to be dragged into this one and reformed to tackle these kinds of issues at a faster and more efficient pace.

In summary: Ryanair’s profits fall as ticket prices drop and passengers book flights closer to travel. Air traffic control problems and an IT outage troubled operations further. However, on the bright side, Ryanair is expecting a busy summer season amid all its problems, and it is calling for improvements in air traffic control services across Europe.