easyJet PLC (LON:EZJ) has announced that it will resume flights on June 15 on routes where there is sufficient demand to run a profitable service.
A small number of flights will restart initially, the airline said, and comprise mainly domestic routes in the UK and France.
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Customers and all crew will be required to wear face masks, said the airline, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitiser will be available onboard and initially there will be no onboard food service.
Further routes will be added as demand increases and lockdown measures across Europe are relaxed, the statement said.
Johan Lundgren, easyJet’s chief executive, added: "I am really pleased that we will be returning to flying in the middle of June. These are small and carefully planned steps that we are taking to gradually resume operations."
Lundgren added that the safety measures will remain in place for as long as is needed.
"Domestic routes represented only a small proportion of easyJet’s pre-Covid-19 network so this is only a small step forward, but with lockdown measures being relaxed in Europe, the network should recover swiftly over July and August," analysts at Peel Hunt commented.
On Friday, a general meeting has been called by founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who holds a 34% stake in the low-cost carrier.
He is looking to remove four members of the board and terminate a deal with Airbus to buy 107 aircraft for £4.5bn.
The Greek entrepreneur previously said that easyJet “simply cannot afford” to spend the sum, which would “drive easyJet into insolvency by December 2020”.
According to a document released on Wednesday, Haji-Ioannou is looking to ask directors how many shares in the company Airbus controls, directly or indirectly, their links with certain Swiss lawyers and whether they believe the firm is a 'going concern'.
Shares advanced 5% to 579.6p on Thursday at noon.
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