Airlines ramp up flight schedules ahead of 'air bridges' announcement

Airlines are ramping up their flight schedules ahead of an expected announcement on so-called ‘air bridges’ to allow people flying from certain countries to avoid quarantine. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed on Tuesday that air bridges will soon be created to allow people arriving in the UK from certain countries to avoid the 14-day quarantine policy. A list of exempt destinations will be published later this week. Shapps also revealed that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is reviewing its position of advising against all non-essential overseas travel. More than 1,000 flights per day will be operated from Wednesday by Ryanair, which has run a skeleton schedule since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is restoring almost 90% of its route network but frequencies will be lower than normal, with just 40% of its normal July capacity. EasyJet will run around 500 flights each day across Europe, including more than 900 a week to and from the UK.<br/>