Falling capacity in high season
Easyjet is canceling more flights due to staff shortages
06/20/2022, 1:59 p.m
In the middle of the main travel season, low-cost airline Easyjet is compressing its offer. It is said that this is a precautionary measure against the expected flight chaos in the summer due to an acute shortage of staff. According to one analyst, the resulting additional costs for the airline should make a big difference.
The low-cost airline Easyjet is canceling further flights due to the acute shortage of staff at airports and on board. According to the company, this will lead to a cost burden and more costs will be incurred than previously estimated in the forecast, without giving specific figures.
Analyst Alex Irving from Bernstein Research estimates the additional costs due to the outages to be between 100 and 200 million British pounds (up to almost 233 million euros). Easyjet now expects a capacity of around 87 percent in the third quarter (as of the end of June) compared to pre-pandemic times, instead of the previously forecast 90 percent. In the fourth quarter, this should recover slightly to 90 percent, but fall short of the previously expected 97 percent.
The airports had reduced staff during the pandemic, which they now lack in the summer travel season. The two airports London Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol, which are important for Easyjet, had recently canceled flights due to the lack of staff. Due to the lack of forces there were handling problems on the ground. But delays in air traffic control are also among the current challenges. Easyjet is therefore taking preventive measures to stabilize processes in the summer months, explained Easyjet boss Johan Lundgren.
From April to June, the British airline counts around 22 million passengers on around 140,000 flights. According to Easyjet, the number of passengers in April and May was seven times higher than in the same months last year.