Coronavirus: EasyJet grounds all flights due to COVID-19 pandemic

EasyJet has grounded its entire fleet of aircraft due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the no-frills carrier said it completed its final rescue flight on Sunday and was now about to place its cabin crew on a two-month leave of absence.

The airline said: "As a result of the unprecedented travel restrictions imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the implementation of national lockdowns across many European countries, easyJet has, today, fully grounded its entire fleet of aircraft.

"Over recent days easyJet has been helping to repatriate customers, having operated more than 650 rescue flights to date, returning home more than 45,000 customers.

"The last of these rescue flights were operated on Sunday March 29. We will continue to work with government bodies to operate additional rescue flights as requested.

"At this stage there can be no certainty of the date for restarting commercial flights. We will continuously evaluate the situation based on regulations and demand, and will update the market when we have a view."

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Flight numbers have fallen to a trickle globally as international air travel responds to a collapse in demand and restrictions on movement - prompting requests for government support to secure the industry's future prospects.

The UK government has ruled out a support package but promised to work with individual airlines should they seek help.

Scottish regional airline, Loganair, has indicated it will do just that.

BA parent firm, IAG, said it had extended by a year its revolving credit facility with lenders - allowing it to draw down cash if it wants.

It means the group has £1.9bn at its disposal under the plan up until the end of June 2021.

Flight information specialist OAG said the aviation industry was now less than half the size reported in mid-January.

It noted that 30% of global flight capacity was lost over the past week alone, with BA losing 72% to date.

Only KLM has lost more in Europe, with 73%.

Cirium, a travel industry data provider, said almost 40% of the global passenger jet fleet was now in storage - inactive for at least seven days - leaving just over 15,000 available.

Ryanair said that as part of efforts to maintain vital links, it would extend its limited flight schedule until 9 April.

EasyJet's decision means it has parked all its 344 aircraft but has made planes available for additional support work should the government request help.

The company has seen the value of its shares dive by almost 60% in the year to date while Sky News revealed on Sunday that its founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, was threatening to seek the removal of most of its board members unless it cancelled a £4.5bn aircraft order with Airbus.

EasyJet responded by saying it was "working with suppliers to defer and reduce payments where possible including on aircraft expenditure".

It also said on Monday that the decision to ground its planes "removes significant cost" - adding that the group "maintains a strong balance sheet".

The airline said it had worked "collaboratively" with the Unite union to reach the deal over cabin crew.

The arrangement, effective from Wednesday, will see staff paid 80% of their average wage through the government's job
retention scheme for two months.

EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic cabin crew have reacted to the slowdown in demand of recent weeks by volunteering to help the NHS at the Nightingale field hospitals being built.

It means they have, potentially, 13,000 people between them available.

Shares were down by more than 9% at one stage in early Monday deals.

Chief executive Johan Lundgren said: "I am extremely proud of the way in which people across easyJet have given their absolute best at such a challenging time, including so many crew who have volunteered to operate rescue flights to bring our customers home.

"We are working tirelessly to ensure that easyJet continues to be well positioned to overcome the challenges of coronavirus."