EasyJet to ground 90% flights but continue operating rescue flights

Monday, March 23, 2020

British low-cost airline, EasyJet recently announced that it will cancel a majority of its flights starting from Tuesday, March 24^th 2020. The announcement comes in light of the travel restrictions imposed in countries all around the world due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

The airline will continue to operate rescue flights in order to bring back customers to their homeland.  However, the carrier is expecting all major rescue operations to be completed by today.

Johan Lundgren, Chief Executive, EasyJet said in a recent statement that the current situation has resulted in the creation of unprecedented times for the airline industry. He mentioned that the company understands the importance of sending its customers back home and hence decided to continue a few flights to rescue them back to their homeland for a few days. He said that in a time when most countries have advised their citizens to refrain from traveling unless necessary, reducing flight operations appears to be the right move at the moment. He also shared that grounding of the aircraft would remove significant levels of variable costs in a situation when financial conditions are crucial.

Lundgren also shared in a recent press statement that the company has appealed to the UK government to provide liquidity to the airline sector during a time when the industry is struggling to cope with the damage caused by the novel coronavirus. He said that the industry requires support to survive and to ensure not only the survival but a proper comeback once the economic recovery takes place.

EasyJet will also operate a skeleton schedule of necessary services on some routes especially to and from the UK. However, the number of flights will only represent a maximum of 10% of its services as compared to its usual capacity at this time of the year. The carrier will also continue to review their flight schedule so that it goes hand in hand with the current demand.

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