Europe’s largest travel company said on Wednesday it saw “positive momentum” in bookings, but weakened due to “increasing media coverage”. [coronavirus] incidence rates and the emergence of the new Omicron variant.”
The company said that if “current sentiment persists,” it will likely operate at only about 60% of pre-pandemic capacity, towards the low end of where it expected to be. Bookings for this winter were currently at 62% of the level seen in 2018-2019.
“In light of recent trends, capacity will be revised upwards of between 60% and 80% towards the lower end of our winter capacity plans. We expect current short-term booking behavior to continue,” TUI said in its annual report.,
COVID-19 infections are on the rise in some of TUI’s most important markets. Germany on Wednesday recorded its highest number of daily deaths from Covid-19 since February, as it struggles to bring the fourth wave of the pandemic under control.
In the United Kingdom, there is increasing pressure on the government to impose tighter restrictions to try to limit infections amid a rising number of cases. The seven-day rolling average was over 45,000 on November 29, the highest level since the all-time high around October 17.
The travel industry appeared to be rebounding in recent months after nearly two years Huge losses – until the discovery of the Omicron version of the coronavirus in South Africa in November.
British Airways told CNN Business that the route The reduction was not specifically a response to the Omicron version, but part of an 18-month review of all flights.
“Like other airlines, due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic, we are operating a reduced and dynamic schedule,” the company said in a statement.
, Julia Horowitz and Marnie Hunter contributed to this article.
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