EasyJet plans more flights from May as it banks on borders reopening

EasyJet expects British tourists to travel freely to most European countries from next month, as it banks on borders reopening in time for the summer season. The airline on Wednesday revealed it lost about GBP700m over winter after surging coronavirus cases and border closures across Europe grounded most of its fleet. The carrier plans to fly 20% of its normal schedule between April and June, with expected capacity levels to increase from late May as CE Johan Lundgren puts his faith in international travel rebounding strongly in the coming months. “I still believe there can be a strong summer,” he said. The UK government has said holidays could be allowed from mid-May in England under a “traffic light” system, but initially only a small number of destinations are expected to be on the green list and opened up for quarantine-free travel. The cautious outlook has disappointed the airline industry, but Lundgren struck an optimistic tone as he forecast major European holiday destinations would make the green list of approved countries for travel immediately. “Unless something happens that we don’t foresee from now, I couldn’t see there would be many countries in Europe that won’t be in the green category,” he said.<br/>