Willie Walsh postpones IAG retirement as airlines react to coronavirus crisis

Willie Walsh has postponed his retirement and will stay at the helm of British Airways’ owner, it emerged on Monday as the value of Britain’s travel giants plunged £4 billion because of coronavirus.

The update on IAG’s Walsh came as airlines today sounded the alarm that travel bans will hurt the industry further.

Shares in IAG plunged more than 21%, or 75.2p, to 275.1p, easyJet lost 217.8p, or 27.7%, to 569p, and Tui was 119.7p, or 33%, lower at 240.3p. There were also falls at Ryanair and Jet2 owner Dart. The value of these five firms dropped £4.2 billion in early trading.

At IAG, 58-year-old Walsh had been due to step down as chief executive on March 26 and to retire in June. The delay is for “a short period”.

IAG outlined a number of plans to tackle the latest slump, including reducing capacity by at least 75% in April and May. It warned it cannot give an accurate profit guidance for the year to December 31.