EasyJet warns UK is being left behind because of Covid travel curbs

EasyJet has warned UK customers are being left behind because of travel restrictions as it increased the number of flights it operates over the late summer in response to a surge in bookings from continental Europe. The low-cost carrier on Tuesday said it expected to operate 60 per cent of its 2019 schedule between July and September, up from just 17% in the previous quarter. EasyJet CE Johan Lundgren said: “You can definitely see Europe is leading the way out of this, and the UK unfortunately is falling behind.” While easyJet’s business is normally split evenly between the UK and Europe, at present two-thirds of its bookings come from continental Europe. From the start of this month, passengers from the EU can use a digital Covid-19 pass to cross borders, while the UK government has complex and sometimes rapidly changing rules on foreign travel. Lundgren questioned UK travel restrictions, which are based on a traffic-light system that classifies countries by Covid-19 risk. “You have to suspect there is a different approach and different risk willingness when it comes to travel compared to reopening the domestic economy,” Lundgren said. “You can go into a nightclub with no restrictions whatsoever, but you can’t travel to a low-risk destination to go to the beach without having to take expensive testing, it just doesn’t make any sense.” <br/>