Jet2 has reported a loss after tax of £69 million for the six months to the end of September, down from a profit of £279 million for the same period last year.

The leisure airline and tour operator saw revenue fall by nearly 90 per cent over the half year, down from £2.5 billion to £300 million.

Jet2 flew a total of one million single sector passengers in the period, down from 11 million last year.

The “uncertainty created by the several changes in UK government quarantine guidance” resulted in the group achieving an average load factor of 69 per cent, down from 93 per cent last year.

After grounding its aircraft fleet in mid-March, the company resumed operations on July 15th as the government lifted quarantine restrictions for an approved list of countries.

While the group said the recent positive news about a potential vaccine was “welcome”, Jet2 added it remained “cautious” over its approach to next summer.

However, current seat capacity will be close to summer 2019 levels.

“We have taken many actions to improve our available liquidity over the period and will continue to do so, to ensure that we are best placed to respond swiftly as travel restrictions are modified and customer confidence recovers,” explained a statement.

“Despite these difficult decisions, we will continue to take every step necessary to preserve cash and enhance liquidity to ensure both Jet2.com and Jet2holidays are equipped to deal with this most challenging of trading environments and also best positioned for a return to operations in a stable financial position, to the benefit of all stakeholders.”