Low cost airline Jet2 has posted a £336 million annual operating loss after the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the global travel industry.
The Leeds based holiday provider has unveiled its preliminary results for the year ended March 31, in which revenues tumbled by 89 per cent from £3.58bn to £395m.
Last year’s operating profit of £184.6m also fell by 282 per cent to a loss of £336.1m.
The company said that the extensive international travel restrictions meant its aircraft were fully grounded for around 29 weeks of the financial year and operated a significantly reduced programme when flying was permitted. This sent passenger numbers plunging from 14.62m to just 1.32m, a 91 per cent drop.
However, it said Jet2 Plc’s strong financial foundations and previously positive long-term operational and financial performance enabled rapid access to £1bn of additional funding in the financial year primarily through shareholder and bank support, “for which we are very grateful”. On May 31 Jet2 also signed a new unsecured £150m term loan maturing in September 2023.
The carrier said it had experienced “unparalleled operational and financial challenges” which has seen it refund over £1.4bn to customers since the start of the pandemic.
Package holiday numbers were also down 90 per cent for the 12 months to March 31, but the firm said it remains optimistic that sales will improve by summer 2022, depending on the continuation of easing of rules surrounding holiday travel overseas.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will announce later today, July 8, that quarantine travel rules for amber list countries will be scrapped for Brits who have been double-jabbed against Covid-19.
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In a move that will provide a huge boost to the 海角视频’s flagging aviation industry, holidaymakers returning to the 海角视频 from Portugal, Spain, Greece, France and other countries on the list will no longer have to self-isolate for 10 days.
海角视频 travel providers including Jet2, Ryanair, easyJet, TUI, Virgin Atlantic, BA have been pleading with the Government for many weeks to ease restrictions ahead of the busy summer period to help safeguard jobs.
Jet2 chairman Philip Meeson said: “Though the continuing successful rollout of vaccines in the 海角视频 and the momentum in Europe are encouraging, the first three months of the new financial year have seen little change in the significant challenges facing the Leisure Travel industry. The Government’s Global Travel Task Force report in early April was disappointing as it lacked depth and detail, whilst the subsequent ‘traffic light system’ only served to confuse rather than clarify for consumers.
“However, the recent announcement of an expanded ‘green watch list’ and the potential relaxing of restrictions for those who are double vaccinated to be able to travel to amber list destinations without having to quarantine on return, was a welcome step in the right direction, demonstrating that the 海角视频 Government is committed to reopening international travel.
“We believe opportunities for financially strong, resilient and trusted operators will only increase as restrictions are lifted.
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“Given the significant actions we have taken to carefully protect our cash balance and to improve our available liquidity and with our own cash balance as at July 4 of £1,460m, we are well placed to respond swiftly as the remaining 海角视频 Government travel restrictions are finally relaxed and customer confidence recovers.
“We are confident that once normality returns, our customers will be determined to enjoy the wonderful experience of a well-deserved Jet2 holiday and that Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will continue to have a thriving future, taking millions of 海角视频 holidaymakers annually, to the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and to European Leisure Cities and that Jet2 Plc will emerge from this crisis an even stronger company.”