EasyJet cuts back summer schedule in effort to avoid further disruption
EasyJet has been forced to cut thousands more flights this summer in response to the staff shortages affecting the aviation industry, as it warned the disruption had been worsened by Brexit and would hit its finances. The low-cost airline on Monday said it would “proactively” cancel flights at sites where there had been significant disruption, including London Gatwick and Amsterdam, two of its biggest airports. Both airports have introduced flight caps in recent days to try to get a grip on disruption, and give passengers advance warning of problems following weeks of last-minute cancellations. EasyJet’s CE Johan Lundgren said the airline had been forced to reject 8,000 job applicants because of their nationality, most of whom were from the EU, following changes to immigration rules from Brexit. He said that meant 35 to 40% of potential recruits were being rejected because of their nationality, up from 2.5% before Brexit. He called again for ministers to give European aviation staff work permits to help ease the crunch. “There is a much smaller pool of talent available,” he said. The airline did not put a number on how many flights would be lost, but said it would now fly about 87% of 2019 levels in the three months to the end of June, down from the 90% it forecast in May. In the following quarter, this would rise to 90%, down from a previous expectation of 97%, which was equivalent to 160,000 flights.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-06-21/unaligned/easyjet-cuts-back-summer-schedule-in-effort-to-avoid-further-disruption
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EasyJet cuts back summer schedule in effort to avoid further disruption
EasyJet has been forced to cut thousands more flights this summer in response to the staff shortages affecting the aviation industry, as it warned the disruption had been worsened by Brexit and would hit its finances. The low-cost airline on Monday said it would “proactively” cancel flights at sites where there had been significant disruption, including London Gatwick and Amsterdam, two of its biggest airports. Both airports have introduced flight caps in recent days to try to get a grip on disruption, and give passengers advance warning of problems following weeks of last-minute cancellations. EasyJet’s CE Johan Lundgren said the airline had been forced to reject 8,000 job applicants because of their nationality, most of whom were from the EU, following changes to immigration rules from Brexit. He said that meant 35 to 40% of potential recruits were being rejected because of their nationality, up from 2.5% before Brexit. He called again for ministers to give European aviation staff work permits to help ease the crunch. “There is a much smaller pool of talent available,” he said. The airline did not put a number on how many flights would be lost, but said it would now fly about 87% of 2019 levels in the three months to the end of June, down from the 90% it forecast in May. In the following quarter, this would rise to 90%, down from a previous expectation of 97%, which was equivalent to 160,000 flights.<br/>
