Jet2 plunges to £370m loss after pandemic wipes out holidays
Jet2 plunged to a £373.8m loss last year amid what it called “a period of unparalleled operational and financial challenges” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The package holiday firm flew just 1.3m passengers last year as a result of widespread travel restrictions, down 91 per cent of the 14.6m it flew the year before.
Due to the confusion surrounding international travel, the London listed firm only resumed flights to green list countries on 1 July.
It will not fly to amber list destinations until 19 July, when it is expected that Brits who have been double vaccinated will be able to skip quarantine.
Despite the whopping loss, which saw it swing into the red from a profit of £264m the year before, Jet2 said that its liquidity remained strong.
That is largely down to the additional £1bn of funding the company has raised over the last year.
As a result, it has a cash position of £1.4bn, even after processing the same amount in customer refunds since the pandemic began.
Neil Shah, director of Research Edison Group: “With the past year being one of the hardest for the airline industry in the recent future, it is no wonder that Jet2 has reported a mixed set of results today.
“With the majority of the UK anticipating positive news regarding foreign travel in the near future, Jet2, like many other airlines, will be looking to capitalise.
“However, it still looks that there may be some uncertainty regarding government restrictions, and a complete return to normality could be some way away.”
Shares in the holiday group dropped 0.9 per cent today.