EasyJet has reported a 337% increase in flight bookings following Boris Johnson’s announcement last night on easing coronavirus restrictions. The British airline said that currently, Spain, Portugal and the Greek island of Crete are amongst the most popular destinations.
A Boost for the Airline Industry
Yesterday the Prime Minister revealed that British holidaymakers could expect to jet abroad from May 12 at the earliest if the four-step road map to come out of lockdown goes to plan. International travel is in phase three of the initiative announced by Downing Street, which will give hope to struggling airlines.
It is expected that the government’s Global Travel Taskforce will reunite to issue a report by 12 April recommending how international trips can resume safely. Last night Boris Johnson said: “This will give people time to make their plans for the summer.”
EasyJet revealed today that the most popular month for bookings since the announcement had been August, followed by July and September. Travel company TUI has also planned to run at least 80% of their normal summer program this year.
Holiday Bookings Take Off
It comes as the demand for a holiday has increased following tight Covid restrictions over the past year.
Johan Lundgren, CEO of EasyJet said:
“We have consistently seen that there is pent-up demand for travel, and this surge in bookings shows that this signal from the Government that it plans to reopen travel has been what UK consumers have been waiting for.
He added: The Prime Minister’s address has provided a much-needed boost in confidence for so many of our customers in the UK with demand for flights up 337% and holidays up 630% already compared to last week and beach destinations proving most popular for this summer.”
Many travel companies, including EasyJet, have put flexible booking policies to protect customers from any Covid restrictions that may affect their holidays.
The news from the UK Government last night has given the airline industry the hope it needed after suffering significant losses over the past year due to the pandemic.
Despite the uncertainty of whether international travel will be allowed from May 17, it is clear that Brits are eager to fly abroad, giving hope to the airline industry that they’ll be able to take off this summer. Will you be booking a holiday abroad this year? Let us know below.
