EasyJet is adding more flights to its schedule to cope with increasing demand

Faro and Nice are popular with customers, the airline says
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Budget airline easyJet has increased its flight schedule due to heightened customer demand, it says.

The airline had originally expected to operate at just 30 per cent of its normal capacity post-lockdown, but is expanding to 40 per cent as it’s seeing an increasing demand for flights - it carried over two million passengers in July alone.

EasyJet CEO, Johan Lundgren said: "Returning to the skies again allows us to do what we do best and take our customers on much-needed holidays.

"I am really encouraged that we have seen higher than expected levels of demand with load factor of 84 per cent in July with destinations like Faro and Nice remaining popular with customers."

Bookings for the summer were performing ‘better than expected’, Lundgren added, which is why the airline is increasing its flights schedule by 10 per cent in August.

Lundgren continued: "This increased flying will allow us to connect even more customers to family or friends and to take the breaks they have worked hard for.”

EasyJet is also seeing an increase in late summer bookings, particularly to places like Paris and Amsterdam.

Like most other airlines, easyJet saw a stark drop in demand in the first quarter of 2020, with passenger numbers slumping by 99.6 per cent. Just 117,000 passengers used the airline in the three months to June 30.