Ryanair to restore 40% of flights from 1 July

Ryanair said it would restore 40% of its scheduled flights from 1 July with crew and passengers required to wear face masks and pass temperature tests.

The airline said it planned to operate almost 1,000 flights across 90% of its pre-Covid-19 network and from most of its 80 bases in Europe.

Ryanair has been operating a skeleton schedule of 30 flights a day between Ireland, the UK and Europe since flight restrictions were imposed in mid-March. It said the part resumption of flying was subject to EU governments lifting restrictions and airports putting public health measures in place.

Passengers will be required to take temperature tests before boarding planes and customers and staff will wear facemasks on board. Queueing for toilets will be banned onboard and passengers will have to ask to use the lavatory, Ryanair said.

Other measures will include fewer checked bags, online check-in, cashless sales onboard, and boarding passes downloaded to phones. In July and August passengers will have to declare at checkin how long their visit to another EU country will be and where they will be staying.

The information will be passed to governments to help them carry out isolation requirements. The UK has said it will require passengers arriving from outside the UK, Ireland and France to be isolated for two weeks.

Ryanair is going ahead with a part resumption of flying despite the UK's quarantine proposals. Willie Walsh, the boss of British Airways' parent IAG, said on Monday he would have to reconsider plans to operate about half its flights from July if the plan went ahead.

Eddie Wilson, chief executive of the company's main Ryanair business, said with six weeks until 1 July this was a practicable date to resume normal schedules. He said Spain, Italy and other tourism-based economies would be able to salvage some of the summer season.

"After four months, it is time to get Europe flying again," Wilson said. "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."

The airline said social distancing would be encouraged onboard where possible. Ryanair's group chief executive Michael O'Leary has said it would not resume flying if "idiotic" distancing measures such as keeping middle seats empty were imposed.