Jet2 swings to full-year loss as Covid restrictions bite

Jet2 said on Thursday that it swung to a full-year loss following what it called "a period of unparalleled operational and financial challenges" as it took a hit from Covid-related restrictions.

In the year to the end of March 2021, the travel group swung to a pre-tax loss of £373.8m from a profit of £264.2m the year before, as revenue tumbled 89% to £395.4m.

"The extensive restrictions imposed on international travel by the UK Government in response to Covid-19 have had a devastating effect on air travel generally, with no flying operations for large parts of the financial year resulting in the group's financial performance being severely impacted," the company said.

Jet2's aircraft were fully grounded for around 29 weeks of the financial year and only operated a significantly reduced programme when flying was allowed. As a result, passenger numbers for Jet2.com fell 91% to 1.32m.

The company said the recent announcement of an expanded 'green watch list' and the potential relaxation of restrictions for double-vaccinated travellers to be able to travel to amber list destinations without having to quarantine on return was a welcome step in the right direction.

"That said, group performance for the financial year ending 31 March 2022 is very much dependent on the level of flying permitted for the remainder of Summer 21 and performance in the second half of the financial year, periods for which we still have limited visibility," it said.

“Unsurprisingly given the continuing short-term uncertainty, customers are booking significantly closer to departure for Summer 21; and, although bookings to date for Winter 21/22 are satisfactory, they have slowed more recently given the ongoing speculation around international travel.”