Ryanair reveals new measures as 40% of flights to resume in July
Ryanair says it plans to return to 40% of normal flight schedules from Wednesday July 1, subject to government restrictions being lifted.
The airline will operate a daily flight schedule of almost 1,000 flights, restoring 90% of its pre-Covid-19 route network.
Since the Covid-19 flight restrictions in mid-March, Ryanair has been operating a skeleton daily schedule of 30 flights between Ireland, the UK and Europe.
New measures be in place when more frequent flying resumes.
These include fewer checked bags, checking in online and downloading boarding passes to a passenger smart phone.
Passengers will undergo temperature checks at the airport and face masks or coverings will be mandatory.
On board its aircraft, Ryanair cabin crew will also wear face masks/coverings and a limited inflight service will be offered of pre-packaged snacks and drinks but no cash sales.
Queuing for toilets will also be prohibited on board and toilet access will be made available to individual passengers upon request.
While EU states emerge from their respective lockdowns, Ryanair will require all passengers flying in July and August to fill out details of how long their planned visit will be and their address while visiting another EU country.
This contact information will be provided to EU governments to help them to monitor any isolation regulations they require of visitors on intra-EU flights.
"Ryanair will work closely with public health authorities to ensure that these flights comply, where possible, with effective measures to limit the spread of Covid-19," said Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson.
"As already shown in Asia, temperature checks and face masks/coverings are the most effective way to achieve this on short haul (1 hour) within Europe’s single market."
Boss Michael O'Leary predicts that summer flights will be 50-60% full.
"Lower than our normal rate but it's important that we get business back moving again and offer people a holiday before the schools restart in September."
Ryanair has released a 'return to flying' video to explain its new policy.
