EasyJet has added extra flights and more seats on bigger aircraft to Portugal to bring holidaymakers home before the country is relegated to the amber list.

CEO Johan Lundgren said the airline will fly larger aircraft and will add additional flights, if necessary, to get everyone back who wants to return by 4am on Tuesday 8 June.

He said: “With many British tourists currently in Portugal our priority is to help the customers who need to return ahead of the Tuesday deadline.”

The airline is contacting flight and package customers who want to return from Faro to Gatwick, Luton, Bristol or Manchester to avoid having to quarantine at home.

Two extra flights have been added for Monday to Gatwick and one each to Luton and Manchester.

EasyJet said it is working with its testing partners to help clients in Portugal make new test arrangements in order to return.

Approved testing partner Collinson will be contacting all customers who have a single arrivals PCR test booked or who booked a pre departure test, to advise them to book a second post-arrivals test.  The second test will be discounted by 20%.

On Friday EasyJet said: “In response to yesterday’s news, easyJet holidays has contacted all customers in Portugal, to assist them to find alternative flights if they want to return home sooner than planned and advising on testing options.

“The operator has also contacted all customers with imminent departures, to provide them with their options. Customers who no longer wish to travel have the option to make fee free changes to their holiday date or receive easyJet holidays credit, to use towards a holiday in the future when the time is right.”

Customers can transfer to the new flights via the Manage Bookings on the easyJet website or on its mobile app.

According to mobility research company Huq Industries, over 112,000 Brits are currently on holiday in Portugal.  

Huq Industries CEO Conrad Poulson said: “Assuming the largest capacity Boeing 737 or equivalent can carry around 230 people that equates to around 487 flights to get every one of the remaining 112,177 people home.

“When you also factor in the five-day window [since the announcement on Thursday] before Portugal goes on the amber list, this rough calculation gives a sense of the scale of the issue for holidaymakers and those charged with getting them home.”