EasyJet says it expects to fly around 15 per cent of 2019
capacity levels in Q3 (April to June) as a result of current travel restrictions in the markets it operates with an expectation that capacity levels
will start to increase from June onwards.
It said late announcements of changes to travel restrictions
will impact load factors due to late capacity additions and cancellations to
meet surges in demand which will drive “an even later booking behaviour”.
“We maintain significant flexibility to ramp capacity up or
down quickly depending upon the unwinding of travel restrictions and expected
demand, with the flexibility to maximise European opportunities,” it said.
The airline said that it had made a headline pre-tax loss of
£701 million for the first half of its financial year, ending 31 March. Total
revenue decreased by 90 per cent to £240 million, from £2,382 million in H1
2020.
Passenger traffic for the six months was down from 38.6
million in 2020 to 4.1 million while capacity decreased to 14 per cent of H1
2019 levels.
The airline said it had raised total liquidity raised of
over £5.5 billion during the pandemic and has a net debt position of £2.0 billion.
Johan Lundgren, easyJet chief executive, said: “Over the
past six months, we have successfully undertaken a major restructuring and cost
reduction process alongside maintaining an investment-grade balance sheet with
significant liquidity and managing our cash burn better than expectations. This
has delivered results in line with guidance.”