EASYJET will cancel flights and put in place cost-cutting measures, including pay and recruitment freezes, to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, writes Scott Wright.
The moves were announced as the airline reported a “significant softening of demand and load factors” in and out of its bases in the north of Italy, where towns and villages across the Lombardy region have been placed in lockdown to halt the spread of the virus. By last night there were 650 cases of coronavirus in Italy, with the death toll climbing to 17.
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Outside Italy, easyJet reported slower demand in other European markets. “As a result we will be making decisions to cancel some flights, particularly those into and out of Italy, while continuing to monitor the situation and adapting our flying programme to support demand,” it said. “While it is too early to determine what the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak will be on current year outlook and guidance for both the airline and holidays business, we continue to monitor the situation carefully and will update the market in due course.”
Airline stocks have collapsed as the outbreak has widened, with the FTSE 100 dropping a further 215.8 points yesterday. Shares in easyJet continued to fall, closing down 9.5p at 1,100.5p
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