Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, Lundgren said things looked "pretty bad" for a number of airlines, warning he expected failures rather than mergers or takeovers.

"There are going to be some airlines which will have a very tricky situation ahead of them," said the easyJet chief executive.

EasyJet, which had to ground its fleet for 11 weeks during 2020, raised more than £5.5 billion to weather the Covid storm, which continued even when flights restarted owing to inconsistent Covid travel guidance and restrictions.

Lundgren said the situation throughout the pandemic was made all the more difficult by the UK often being at odds with the rules and restrictions, or lack of, in Europe where easyJet predominantly flies.

He said things actually improved this summer, despite the backdrop of wall-to-wall "airport chaos" headlines, with easyJet flying 16 million customers during July and August and experiencing "lower levels of disruption on the day than in 2019".

"It’s been difficult because not everything is within your control," he told the paper.

EasyJet lost £1 billion in 2021, but despite all the subsequent challenges, Lundgren hinted at the prospect of a small profit, albeit while pointing towards guidance from analysts forecasting a £127 million loss.

Last month, easyJet holidays – easyJet’s in-house tour operator – said it expected to post profits in excess of £35 million this year, and to target 30% customer growth next year. Its mid-term aim is to achieve annual pre-tax profits of £100 million.

Lundgren also acknowledged the impact of the cost of living crisis gripping the UK, but stressed holidays would always be important. "We know people don’t want to let go of their holidays."