EasyJet axes 1,700 summer flights over ‘air traffic control delays’
EasyJet has cancelled 1,700 summer flights, primarily from London Gatwick, potentially disrupting the holiday plans of thousands of passengers. After a number of short-notice cancellations at the Sussex airport in recent days, the move will prompt fresh concern about the resilience of squeezed European airspace to deal with booming demand, with more air traffic control strikes threatened. The airline said 95% of those affected had already been contacted and rebooked on alternative flights, and the remaining passengers would be notified and offered refunds or rebooking on Monday. It is understood about 9,000 passengers have yet to be put on new flights. It said most of the cancellations were those with multiple departures and would amount to less than 2% of its remaining schedule for July and August. It blamed “unprecedented air traffic control delays” and said these “pre-emptive adjustments” were not a sign of the same kind of problems with ground staffing that forced easyJet and other airlines to cancel thousands of flights last year. Dozens of easyJet flights were axed over the weekend to and from Gatwick, where it is by some distance the biggest carrier. The cancellations could drive peak summer fares even higher, with capacity still roughly 10% below 2019 levels, although more flights will depart the UK this month – 92,400, with 16.5m seats – than any month since October 2019, according to data from analysts Cirium. Airspace remains a worry for UK airlines, with frequent French air traffic control strikes in particular forcing carriers to divert to longer paths. Eurocontrol, which manages and coordinates airspace around Europe, has warned of “challenging conditions”, with the war in Ukraine constraining available flight paths, as well as more possible summer strike action. An easyJet spokesperson apologised to customers for any inconvenience, and said: “We are currently operating up to around 1,800 flights and carrying around 250,000 customers per day with more crew and pilots flying than ever before, and like all airlines we review our flights on an ongoing basis.<br/>
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EasyJet axes 1,700 summer flights over ‘air traffic control delays’
EasyJet has cancelled 1,700 summer flights, primarily from London Gatwick, potentially disrupting the holiday plans of thousands of passengers. After a number of short-notice cancellations at the Sussex airport in recent days, the move will prompt fresh concern about the resilience of squeezed European airspace to deal with booming demand, with more air traffic control strikes threatened. The airline said 95% of those affected had already been contacted and rebooked on alternative flights, and the remaining passengers would be notified and offered refunds or rebooking on Monday. It is understood about 9,000 passengers have yet to be put on new flights. It said most of the cancellations were those with multiple departures and would amount to less than 2% of its remaining schedule for July and August. It blamed “unprecedented air traffic control delays” and said these “pre-emptive adjustments” were not a sign of the same kind of problems with ground staffing that forced easyJet and other airlines to cancel thousands of flights last year. Dozens of easyJet flights were axed over the weekend to and from Gatwick, where it is by some distance the biggest carrier. The cancellations could drive peak summer fares even higher, with capacity still roughly 10% below 2019 levels, although more flights will depart the UK this month – 92,400, with 16.5m seats – than any month since October 2019, according to data from analysts Cirium. Airspace remains a worry for UK airlines, with frequent French air traffic control strikes in particular forcing carriers to divert to longer paths. Eurocontrol, which manages and coordinates airspace around Europe, has warned of “challenging conditions”, with the war in Ukraine constraining available flight paths, as well as more possible summer strike action. An easyJet spokesperson apologised to customers for any inconvenience, and said: “We are currently operating up to around 1,800 flights and carrying around 250,000 customers per day with more crew and pilots flying than ever before, and like all airlines we review our flights on an ongoing basis.<br/>
