EasyJet’s profit dives as coronavirus crisis hammers global travel

UK budget carrier EasyJet said on Tuesday that the company’s revenue had dropped 52.9 percent year-on-year to just £3 billion ($4 billion) due to the Covid pandemic having brought the global travel industry to a halt.

The number of passengers had also sunk by 50 percent over the same period, on the back of stay-at-home orders, quarantine policies, and other Covid-related restrictions. The airline said it expected to fly about 20 percent of its planned capacity in the final three months of 2020. 

EasyJet’s CEO Johan Lundgren said that, despite the troubling times for the business, the company was on track to benefit from a recovery phase. “We also know the attraction to the brand in terms of the trust it generates for customers, and also, the value for money that we represent gives a good foundation, and we’ll bounce back strongly when the recovery comes,” Lundgren told CNBC, adding: “The longer these travel restrictions are in place, it actually increases pent-up demand.”

According to EasyJet, within 24 hours of the British government’s decision to remove mandatory quarantine to those arriving from the Canary Islands in late October, sales increased 876 percent over five days. 

Lundgren also pointed out: “The news of the vaccine is really good, and I think it will really help to bolster the demand and the confidence for people to make future travel plans.”

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