EasyJet has told investors it is expecting passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels next summer despite uncertainty over the winter months ahead as coronavirus restrictions grow across Europe.

The no-frills carrier said it had seen early signs of a softening of bookings since the emergence of the omicron variant but it was too early to predict the impact over the important festive season.

EasyJet remained upbeat on the prospects for a recovery ahead while outlining a deterioration in annual losses for the year to 30 September.

Pre-tax losses came in at £1.1bn compared to £835m in the previous 2019/20 financial year – a period which only reflected six months of COVID-19 disruption.

The company held back on providing full financial guidance for its current year.

It predicted capacity would be around 65% of 2019 levels between October and December.