Ryanair Plans To Restore 40 Percent Of Flights From 1 July

Ryanair is planning on restoring 40 percent of its flights from 1 July.

The budget airline said it hopes to operate around 1,000 flights a day to 90 percent of its route network, with staff and customers adhering to a range of new safety measures.

PA

The plan is contingent on governments lifting restrictions on flights within the European Union, which were put in place to help tackle the spread of coronavirus.

Discussing the plans earlier today (Tuesday 12 May), the company's CEO Michael O'Leary criticised the UK government's plan that people arriving back in the country by air should isolate for two weeks.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, he said: "I don't think this 14-day isolation will be effective.

"We have released a two and a half minute video this morning on effective health measures which largely include temperature checks, hand sanitation and face masks at all stages during the airports and on board the aircraft.

"What we're against are overly ineffective measures such as this nonsensical two-week isolation, which somehow only applies if you're not French or you're not Irish."

Under Ryanair's new safety measures, passengers will have to ask permission to use the toilet and all customers and crew will be required to wear face masks on board.

Passengers will also have their temperature checked before flying and will have to check-in online and download their boarding pass to a smartphone.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, O'Leary said social distancing would not be needed with the aforementioned measures in place.

He said: "The business only functions when we can sell most of the seats on most of the flights.

"We accept in July and August that the load factors will be lower than that, but we don't need social distancing.

"In fact the government has already recommended that where social distancing isn't possible, wear face masks. That is the effective measure against the spread of Covid-19, not the ineffective measures like a 14-day isolation that nobody will observe anyway."

However, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said summer holidays currently looked 'unlikely'.

Speaking on This Morning, he said: "We will seek to reopen hospitality from early July if we keep successfully reducing the spread of this virus but I think social distancing of some kind is going to continue.

"And the conclusion from that is that it's unlikely big lavish international holidays are going to be possible for this summer. I just think that's a reality of life."

Topics: World News, Ryanair, travel

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey