British Airways owner IAG has more than halved its losses from £7.8 billion to £3.5 billion before tax last year as it made some progress towards bouncing back from Covid-19.
The group reported revenue had increased 8.3 per cent to £8.5 billion in the year to December. The number of passengers it carried was at 58 per cent of 2019 levels in the last three months of the year, up from 43 per cent in the quarter before.
The business was helped in early November when the US reopened its borders to foreign travellers. However, the emergence of Omicron just weeks later dealt the airline another blow.
IAG said it expected to report a significant quarterly operating loss in the first quarter of 2022 but to be profitable from the second quarter.
It expects capacity to reach 65 per cent in the first three months of this year and 85 per cent over the whole of 2022.
Besides British Airways, the group also operates Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus and Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling.
The financial report stated: "Across the year, the travel restrictions for Ireland and the UK were greater than for Spain and consequently Iberia and Vueling were able to increase capacity earlier than the other Group airlines, with both reaching over 75 per cent of 2019 capacity in the final quarter of the year.
"Capacity was significantly affected by the travel restrictions put in place, including new national lockdowns in the UK and Ireland in response to the third wave of infections at the start of the year.
"The emergence of the Omicron variant impacted demand, mainly in December, as governments introduced stricter travel requirements and border restrictions in response."
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