Aer Lingus “Has too many resources and needs to be adjusted,” the airline said on Friday as it continues to grapple with the impact of widespread restrictions related to Covid on its services. Travel restrictions were highlighted in the republic, which have been described as “the strictest” in Europe.

“These restrictions, and the lack of a government-approved aviation restart plan in Ireland clearly outlining the metrics for resuming international travel, mean airlines are unable to plan their business and make bookings for the summer are low, ”Aer Lingus said in a statement.

It went on to say it has too many resources “and needs to adjust and properly size and shape its structure” in order for it to emerge from the pandemic as a “more productive and cost-effective organization than before”. .

Aer Lingus owner IAG has drawn on the remainder of a EUR 150 million loan facility agreed by the state in the first quarter.

Having initially drawn EUR 75 million in the last three months of 2020, the airline’s parent company has recently drawn the remainder of the funding.

Funding came from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund’s Pandemic Recovery Fund, which has arranged a three-year loan for the airline.

The IAG also said it had also borrowed £ 2 billion (EUR 2.3 billion) British Airways during the quarter

Aer Lingus’ capacity continued to be driven by cargo needs and regular flights to New York, JFK were operated. Chicago and Boston with very low passenger load factors. The domestic route between London Heathrow and Belfast The group added that with continued demand for business travelers, it did well.

Group capacity

For the quarter from April to June, only a minimal increase in group capacity to 25 percent was forecast, which remains cautious despite the hope that European travel will recover from the end of May. IAG also owns Iberia and Vueling in the Spain.

The group recorded an operating loss before special items of € 1.14 billion in the first quarter, slightly better than the loss of € 1.17 billion forecast by analysts.

Group-wide sales fell by 78.9 percent to 968 million euros, and passenger sales by 88.4 percent to 459 million euros.

“We are taking all necessary measures to ensure the long-term financial health of our business, including the successful capital increase of 2.7 billion euros last year, and we continue to focus on reducing our cost base and increasing efficiency,” said the CEO Luis Gallego.

The group said it would not provide a profit forecast for the year due to uncertainty about the lifting of travel restrictions and the ongoing impact and duration of Covid-19.

It has been predicted that it will take at least 2023 for passenger demand to return to 2019 levels.

Aer Lingus posted an operating loss of € 103 million before special items for the first quarter. The result was a loss of € 361 million for 2020.