BA owner IAG to increase flights but losses hit €2bn

Group hopes to raise passenger capacity for summer to about 45% of its 2019 pre-Covid capacity

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British Airways' owner, International Airlines Group, has announced plans to gradually return more planes to the skies after reporting a 2bn (1.7bn) loss for the first half of 2021.

International Airlines Group (IAG) said it hoped to raise passenger capacity for the pivotal summer period to about 45% of its 2019 pre-pandemic capacity, up from only 20% for the first six months of the year, with hopes that its lucrative transatlantic UK-US routes could reopen fully.