BA owner urges easing of travel restrictions as losses mount
The owner of British Airways urged ministers to be more ambitious in reopening international borders as it warned it would only fly 25% of its normal schedules in the run-up to the busy summer season. IAG made the call as its losses hit E1.1b for the first three months of the year, a period dominated by travel restrictions in the face of surging Covid-19 cases across Europe. IAG’s airlines flew just 20% of their normal flight schedules in Q1 and revenue fell 79% year on the year to E968m. It plans to increase flights to 25% of normal schedules between April and June, but is ready to add more flights if there is demand. In contrast, European rival Air France-KLM has said it hopes to hit 50% of pre-crisis capacity this summer. Although the prospects for this summer are brighter, carriers are reliant on the UK and other European countries allowing mass travel in time for the critical peak summer season. The UK government on Friday announced a cautious reopening of its borders to non-essential travel from May 17, but will only allow quarantine-free travel to 12 countries initially. “The [UK] government needs to be ambitious in getting back on track and reaping all the benefits of the vaccinations programme that has been a success,” said Luis Gallego, IAG’s CE.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/imagelibrary/news/hot-topics/2021-05-10/oneworld/ba-owner-urges-easing-of-travel-restrictions-as-losses-mount
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BA owner urges easing of travel restrictions as losses mount
The owner of British Airways urged ministers to be more ambitious in reopening international borders as it warned it would only fly 25% of its normal schedules in the run-up to the busy summer season. IAG made the call as its losses hit E1.1b for the first three months of the year, a period dominated by travel restrictions in the face of surging Covid-19 cases across Europe. IAG’s airlines flew just 20% of their normal flight schedules in Q1 and revenue fell 79% year on the year to E968m. It plans to increase flights to 25% of normal schedules between April and June, but is ready to add more flights if there is demand. In contrast, European rival Air France-KLM has said it hopes to hit 50% of pre-crisis capacity this summer. Although the prospects for this summer are brighter, carriers are reliant on the UK and other European countries allowing mass travel in time for the critical peak summer season. The UK government on Friday announced a cautious reopening of its borders to non-essential travel from May 17, but will only allow quarantine-free travel to 12 countries initially. “The [UK] government needs to be ambitious in getting back on track and reaping all the benefits of the vaccinations programme that has been a success,” said Luis Gallego, IAG’s CE.<br/>
