EasyJet took to the skies again today for the first time since its planes were grounded on March 30 – with passengers facing a raft of new coronavirus safety measures including mandatory face masks and an alcohol ban.
The first flight, from London Gatwick to Glasgow, left at 6.53am for a scheduled arrival in Scotland of 8.30am, as the airline resumed mainly domestic flights between British and European cities. There are also two foreign routes from the UK to Nice and Faro.
Pictures from first flight this morning, posted by Good Morning Britain’s Travel Expert Simon Calder, showed a fairly crowded service with no room for people to observe six-feet social distancing rules.
EasyJet’s first flight took off from London Gatwick at 6.53am and was due to arrive in Scotland at 8.30am
While borders across Europe are being opened, a hoped-for travel recovery in easyJet’s home market of Britain has been put at risk by a 14-day quarantine rule for arrivals.
EasyJet, alongside rivals British Airways and Ryanair, started legal action on Friday against the British government’s quarantine policy to try to have it overturned.
With no revenues for months, airlines have been cutting costs to try to survive the coronavirus pandemic.
EasyJet said in May it was planning to cut 4,500 jobs, or 30% of its workforce. It has said Britain’s quarantine could lead to even more cuts.
The airline is planning to ramp up services as the summer progresses and by August has said it will be flying about three-quarters of routes but at a much lower frequency than last year.
Capacity will be at about 30% of usual in the busy July to September season, easyJet said. Bigger rival Ryanair plans to be flying 40% of capacity by July.
EasyJet’s boss has insisted he would ‘feel 100% safe’ on packed planes thanks to new safety measures.
Chief executive Johan 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 on Monday.
Passengers and crew will be required to wear masks, aircraft will be regularly deep-cleaned and disinfection wipes and hand sanitiser will be made available.
EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic have banned alcohol on all flights to limit contact between passengers, while British Airways has suspended alcohol on short-haul trips.
Chief executive Johan Lundgren said he would feel ‘100% safe’ travelling on an easyJet plane even if it was full
EasyJet passengers will be limited to a glass of water, with food service also suspended.
EasyJet’s first UK flight since it grounded its aircraft on March 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic will take off from Gatwick at 7am and touch down in Glasgow 90 minutes later.
Mr Lundgren said not operating a single flight in nearly three months has been ‘devastating’, and the airline is ‘super excited’ to resume.
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.’
The Airbus A321neo – easyJet’s largest aircraft – can seat 235 passengers.
EasyJet restarted some flights today with new safety restrictions (file photo of easyJet planes)
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.
EasyJet’s initial schedule will involve mainly domestic flying in the UK and France.
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.