News

EasyJet chief ‘not confident’ EU can deliver green certificate by June

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren has questioned how coordinated travel’s restart will be around Europe and how quickly the EU and UK will introduce digital Covid-status certification.

Lundgren warned that manual processes are likely to be place for checking travellers’ vaccination and test certificates and said: “I don’t trust how coordinated it will be across Europe.”

Speaking as easyJet issued a trading update for the six months to March, Lundgren said: “There has been a lack of coordination across countries.”

The EU has plans to fast-track development of a digital green certificate to show the Covid-status of holders and has promised to deliver this by June. At least 13 member states have discussed coordinating the certificate’s use for intra-EU travellers.

The UK government is also reviewing Covid-status certification and plans to make both digital and paper certificates available.

But referring to the EU’s plans for a digital green certificate, Lundgren said: “I’m not so confident that will be rapidly implemented.”

He suggested: “It will probably be necessary that there will be manual checks [of paper certificates] and different processes in different countries and that will be difficult operationally.

“No doubt it will be a challenge. There will be manual processes in place and it will not be as slick as we hope.”

Lundgren, who is current chairman of the Airlines for Europe (A4E) group said: “I’m working on that at Airlines for Europe.”

He said easyJet would operate only 20% of its 2019 capacity over the course of the three months to June, but added: “We expect to ramp up in the fourth quarter [July to September].”

Lundgren insisted: “I still believe there will be a strong summer.”

Share article

View Comments

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.