EasyJet to resume flights in UK, France and four other European airports

EasyJet is to resume flights on a small number of routes from 15 June, with increased on-board safety measures including mandatory wearing of face masks, as it returns to the skies after grounding its fleet on 30 March. The airline will restart domestic routes in the UK and France initially, along with flights from four destinations elsewhere in Europe, where it says there is sufficient customer demand to support profitable flying. Further routes will be added in the following weeks, as and when passenger demand rises and lockdown measures ease further across Europe. The airline will resume flights from airports in the UK, including London Gatwick, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Belfast International. It will also begin flying again from locations in France, including Paris Charles de Gaulle, Nice and Lyon, as well as Geneva in Switzerland, Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, and Barcelona in Spain. One confirmed international route will be Gatwick to Nice on the French Riviera. The carrier will introduce enhanced cleaning and disinfection of its aircraft, make disinfectant wipes and hand sanitiser available on board, and require all passengers and cabin crew, as well as ground crew, to wear masks. There will be no food service onboard initially. EasyJet will, however, not block the middle seats in its planes despite saying last month it was considering such a move. It says the measures “have been implemented in consultation with aviation authorities” and in line with government and medical advice. <br/>