Ryanair has confirmed plans to return to 40 per cent of normal flight schedules from the start of July.

The low-cost carrier said the move was subject to government restrictions on intra-EU flights being lifted, and effective public health measures being put in place at airports.

Ryanair will operate a daily flight schedule of almost 1,000 flights, restoring 90 per cent of its pre-Covid-19 route network.

Since the Covid-19 flight restrictions in mid-March, Ryanair has been operating a skeleton daily schedule of 30 flights between Ireland, the UK and Europe.

From July, the carrier will restart flying from most of its 80 bases across Europe.

There will be fewer daily/weekly frequencies on trunk routes, as Ryanair works to restore some services on the widest number of routes, rather than operating high frequency services on a small number.

Ryanair chief executive, Eddie Wilson, said: “It is important for our customers and our people that we return to some normal schedules from July onwards.

“Governments around Europe have implemented a four-month lockdown to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

“After four months, it is time to get Europe flying again so we can reunite friends and families, allow people to return to work, and restart Europe’s tourism industry, which provides so many millions of jobs.”

International Airlines Group, owner of British Airways, said last week it hopes to return to what it calls “meaningful flying” in July.

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Ahead of its relaunch, Ryanair released a return to flying video encouraging passengers to observe effective health measures to limit the Covid-19 virus.

These include fewer checked bags, check in online, downloading boarding pass to the passenger smart phone, as well as undergoing temperature checks at airport entry and wearing face masks/coverings at all times in the terminal and on-board aircraft.