EasyJet among first carriers in Europe to plan restart

EasyJet Plc will resume flights from 22 European airports on June 15, becoming one of the first airlines in the region to begin building up services as the coronavirus lockdown eases.

Britain’s biggest discount carrier will start with mainly internal flights in the U.K. and France before announcing more routes in coming weeks as travel restrictions are lifted and demand picks up, the Luton, England-based company said in a statement Thursday.

Passengers, cabin crew and ground staff will be required to wear face masks, in line with guidance this week by the European Aviation Safety Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. No food will be served on the first flights and customers will be asked to sit apart from others not in their party, though only where spare seats are available.

EasyJet shares traded 4.2% higher at 573.6 pence as of 8:19 a.m. in London, paring their decline this year to 59%.

European airlines are keen to get flights up and running to tap into the latter part of the normally lucrative summer travel season, though EasyJet is moving a few weeks earlier than most. Among its biggest rivals, Ryanair Holdings Plc won’t resume operations until July 1. British Airways is also planning a July return but has said that could be complicated by U.K. quarantine rules.

Wizz Air Holdings Plc, Europe’s third-largest discounter after Ryanair and EasyJet, said May 6 it would add six new routes from Luton, including a service to Portugal starting on June 16.