easyJet plc

It is too early to say which countries will be on Britain's green list for travel, UK aviation minister Robert Courts said on Wednesday, after easyJet's chief executive forecast that most European countries would be on the list.

British airline easyJet said it expected to start to fly more from late May onwards and that by then most European countries should be open to British holidaymakers, painting an optimistic picture about the return of travel.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said he wanted a testing regime for international travel to be easy and cheap, hinting that rapid tests could be used after criticism from the airline industry that current requirements were onerous.

Britain hasn't given up on resuming international travel on May 17, but needs to be cautious given rising COVID-19 infections in Europe, its prime minister said on Tuesday, amid pressure from hard-hit airlines to give the green light for foreign holidays.

The chief executive of British airline easyJet criticised some of the government's plans to restart travel, saying COVID-19 tests should not be required for passengers travelling to low-risk destinations.

EasyJet's chief executive said that he always expected there to be bumps along the way to a travel recovery and denied that a third wave of COVID-19 infections in Europe put it at risk.

Britain wants to cut air passenger duty on domestic flights to boost internal links and will launch a consultation this spring, giving a glimmer of hope to the stricken airline industry.

EasyJet raised 1.2 billion euros ($1.46 billion) from a seven-year bond sale on Wednesday, in a sign of investor confidence in a recovery in international travel and tourism.

EasyJet said flight bookings jumped over 300% and holidays bookings surged by more than 600% week on week, after Britain laid out plans for international travel to restart, hinting that borders could reopen from mid-May.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson must show how travel will restart when he sets out his wider roadmap for easing COVID-19 restrictions on Feb. 22, UK airline bosses said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson should give a clear statement on the path for international travel when he sets out plans next week to ease COVID-19 restrictions on the economy, the boss of airline easyJet said on Monday.

Britain must set out how it will ease coronavirus travel restrictions, easyJet's chief executive said on Wednesday, a day after the government tightened already strict travel rules in a further blow for airlines.

The British government needs to set out how it will unwind coronavirus border restrictions to give people the confidence to book flights after it introduced quarantine hotels, the head of easyJet said on Wednesday.

Wizz Air vowed to use the coronavirus crisis to win market share from rivals including easyJet, as the no-frills airlines both posted sharp falls in quarterly revenue.

EasyJet urged governments on Thursday to set out a plan for easing COVID-19 travel restrictions as the British airline warned its prospects had worsened for January-March and it could not give forecasts for the key summer season.

British airline easyJet reported an 88% slump in quarterly revenues as passenger numbers collapsed 87%, hit by the second wave of the pandemic in Europe which has led to new lockdowns and tightening travel restrictions.

The bosses of airlines including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet criticised on Tuesday a possible plan for mandatory quarantine in hotels for some or all arrivals to Britain and called for a support package.

Britain is tightening border controls to block new variants of COVID-19, suspending all "travel corridor" arrangements that had meant arrivals from some countries did not require quarantine.

British airline easyJet said the National Health Service (NHS) would train hundreds of its cabin crew to administer COVID-19 vaccines under a fast-track scheme designed to help boost the country's vaccination efforts.