Easyjet starts first flights since March to encourage summer holidays

The first Easyjet flight took off from Gatwick at 7am to land in Glasgow at 8.30am
The first Easyjet flight took off from Gatwick at 7am to land in Glasgow at 8.30am (Picture: PA)

EasyJet’s boss has insisted he would ‘feel 100% safe’ on packed planes as the airline restarts operations for the first time in 11 weeks.

The company’s first flight since March left Gatwick at 7am today to touch down in Glasgow 90 minutes later. Passengers and crew are required to wear masks, aircraft will be regularly deep-cleaned and disinfection wipes and hand sanitiser will be made available.

EasyJet’s grounded its aircraft on March 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with chief executive Johan Lundgren saying not operating a single flight in nearly three months has been ‘devastating’.

Mr Lundgren said the Luton-based carrier has taken guidance from international regulators to develop an enhanced safety and hygiene regime for its resumption of flights today. He will travel on his first easyJet flight after the restart on Wednesday. Asked if he would be anxious about his health if the plane is full, he replied: ‘I would feel 100% safe.

‘The recommendations that we’ve implemented have been defined together with international regulators Easa (European Aviation Safety Agency), ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation), the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and also our own company’s medical doctors and expertise.’

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The Airbus A321neo – easyJet’s largest aircraft – can seat 235 passengers. Despite the 14-day quarantine policy and current travel restrictions imposed in the UK, Mr Lundgren said he believed summer holidays will be possible.

He went on: ‘We would hope and would be really looking forward to restrictions being either lifted, or air bridges put in place where it made sense to do so, allowing UK customers as well as people in the rest of Europe to be able to go on a holiday.’

Air bridges would involve travellers arriving from countries where the risk of being infected by coronavirus is deemed to be low to avoid having to self-isolate for 14 days.

(Picture: Jonathan Swain/Twitter)
Passengers and crew are required to wear masks, aircraft will be regularly deep-cleaned and disinfection wipes and hand sanitiser will be made available (Picture: Jonathan Swain/Twitter)

EasyJet’s initial schedule will involve mainly domestic flying in the UK and France. The airline will ramp up its operations in the coming weeks. It plans to reopen half of its 1,022 routes by the end of next month, increasing to 75% during August.

But flights will be at a lower frequency than normal, meaning the airline will operate at around 30% of its normal capacity between July and September.

EasyJet announced plans to cut up to 4,500 jobs as it does not expect demand to return to 2019 levels until 2023.

Ryanair intends to restore 40% of its flights from July 1, while British Airways is due to make a ‘meaningful return’ to service next month.

EMBARGOED TO 0001 TUESDAY JUNE 2 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Airline easyJet has introduced new safety and wellbeing measures for customers and crew, which includes enhanced aircraft cleaning and a requirement for passengers and crew to wear face masks when travelling, at Gatwick Airport. PA Photo. Issue date: Tuesday June 2, 2020. The airline recently announced that a small number of flights will resume from Monday June 15th with more to be restored by July. Photo credit should read: Matt Alexander/PA Wire
EasyJet’s boss has insisted he would ‘feel 100% safe’ on packed planes as the airline restarts operations (Picture: PA)

Last week the Department for Transport issued new rules for flying including a ban on hand luggage and face-to-face check-ins.

Despite the eagerness of airlines to restart flights and encourage holidays, the government’s official advice currently remains to avoid all non-essential travel.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged the Government to not lift the lockdown until it is proven its widely-criticised coronavirus contact tracing system works.

After it was revealed the Government failed to trace the contacts of a third of those testing positive in the first week of the new system, Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO’s director for Europe, warned Britain was still in the midst of a ‘very active phase of the pandemic’.

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