Ryanair set to restore 40% of its normal flight schedule from July 1 – with crew and passengers wearing face masks
- The airline said in a statement that fewer checked bags will be processed
- It warned passengers that they may have to pass temperature checks to board
- Ryanair said July 1 was the ‘most practical date to resume flight schedules’
Ryanair has announced that 40 per cent of its normal flight schedules will be restored from July 1, making 90 per cent of its route network active again.
The Irish budget carrier said that all crew will wear face masks/coverings in-flight and that passengers should follow suit.
A ‘Healthy flying’ notice on the Ryanair homepage tells passengers to check-in online, download boarding passes to their smartphone and ‘wear a face mask/covering at all times, both in the airport and onboard your flight’.
Ryanair has announced that 40 per cent of its normal flight schedules will be restored from July 1
It also encourages fliers to check their temperature before travelling.
‘It may be checked again at the airport,’ the site says. ‘If you do not pass this, you will be asked to return home.’
The airline has added in a statement that fewer checked bags will be processed and that a ‘limited inflight service will be offered of pre-packaged snacks and drinks, but no cash sales’.
It continued: ‘All onboard transactions will be cashless. Queuing for toilets will be prohibited onboard although toilet access will be made available to individual passengers upon request. Ryanair encourages passengers to regularly hand wash and use hand sanitizers in airport terminals.
‘As a temporary further public health measure, while EU states emerge from their respective Covid-19 lockdowns, Ryanair will require all passengers flying in July and August to fill in details (at the point of check-in) of how long their planned visit will be, and also 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.’
A ‘Healthy flying’ notice on the Ryanair homepage tells passengers to check-in online, download boarding passes to their smartphone and ‘wear a face mask/covering at all times, both in the airport and onboard your flight’
It added: ‘All Ryanair aircraft are fitted with HEPA air filters (similar to those used in critical hospital wards) and all aircraft interior surfaces are disinfected every night with chemicals, which are effective for over 24 hours. While temperature checks and face masks/coverings are the cornerstone of this healthy return to service, social distancing at airports and onboard aircraft will be encouraged where it is possible.’
Ryanair stressed that this plan to return some normality to its schedules will be subject to Government restrictions on intra-EU flights being lifted.
Ryanair’s CEO Eddie Wilson said: ‘It is important for our customers and our people that we return to some normal schedules from July 1 onwards. Governments around Europe have implemented a four-month lockdown to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus. After four months, it is time to get Europe flying again so we can reunite friends and families, allow people to return to work, and restart Europe’s tourism industry, which provides so many millions of jobs.
‘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. As already shown in Asia, temperature checks and face masks/coverings are the most effective way to achieve this on short-haul (one hour) flights within Europe’s single market.
‘Now that Europe’s states are allowing some gradual return to normal life, we expect this will evolve over the coming weeks and months. With more than six weeks to go to July 1, Ryanair believes this is the most practical date to resume normal flight schedules, so that we can allow friends and families to reunite, commuters to go back to work, and allow those tourism-based economies such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, France and others, to recover what is left of this year’s tourism season.
‘Seats on all these flights are now on sale at www.Ryanair.com, at prices which start from just €19.99 one way. We will continue to work closely with public health agencies to encourage our people and passengers to adopt practical and effective steps to limit the spread of Covid-19 virus, in the best interest of our passengers, our people and our communities.’