International Airlines Group has reported an operating loss of €967 million for the second quarter.

The figure is an improvement on the loss of €2.2 billion seen in the same period last year.

The reported operating loss for the half of 2021 was thus, €2 billion.

The group – which owns Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia – said passenger capacity in quarter two was just 21.9 per cent of 2019.

The figure continues to be adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, together with government restrictions and quarantine requirements.

IAG said it currently expects to fly around 45 per cent of 2019 capacity in the third quarter.

However, this remains uncertain and subject to ongoing review, a statement explained.

Luis Gallego, IAG chief executive, said: “In the short term, our focus is on ensuring our operational readiness, so we have the flexibility to capitalise on an environment where there’s evidence of widespread pent-up demand when travel restrictions are lifted.

“This is reflected in Iberia’s and Vueling’s results.

“They were the best performers within the group in the second quarter reflecting stronger Latin American and Spanish domestic markets driven by fewer travel restrictions.

He added: “We welcome the recent announcement that fully vaccinated travellers from amber countries in the EU and the US will no longer have to quarantine upon arrival in the UK.

“We see this as an important first step in fully re-opening the transatlantic travel corridor.”

Given the uncertainty over the timing of the lifting of government travel restrictions and the continued impact and duration of Covid-19, IAG said it was not in a position to provide guidance for 2021.