Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Business

EasyJet hit by aviation disruption but slashes loss

British airline EasyJet on Tuesday said it took a sizeable financial hit from sector-wide disruptions, notably staff shortages.

EasyJet said it was hit by "short-term disruption issues", but that it was experiencing "the return to flying at scale"
EasyJet said it was hit by "short-term disruption issues", but that it was experiencing "the return to flying at scale" - Copyright AFP Anthony WALLACE
EasyJet said it was hit by "short-term disruption issues", but that it was experiencing "the return to flying at scale" - Copyright AFP Anthony WALLACE

British airline EasyJet on Tuesday said it took a sizeable financial hit from sector-wide disruptions, notably staff shortages, but still slashed quarterly losses as demand recovers.

As airport staff shortages spark flight cancellations, EasyJet said in a statement that it booked a one-off charge totalling £133 million ($160 million).

That saw the airline post a pre-tax loss of £114 million in the group’s third quarter, or the three months to the end of June.

However, that marked a major improvement from a loss of around £318 million for the same period of last year, as travel demand picked up from a Covid-induced downturn.

Third-quarter revenue increased more than eight-fold to £1.8 billion, while traffic rebounded close to pre-Covid levels.

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said the carrier was hit by “short-term disruption issues”, but that it was experiencing “the return to flying at scale”.

Traffic surged more than seven-fold to 22 million passengers in the quarter after the lifting of Covid travel curbs.

That was almost 90 percent of the group’s 2019 capacity, before the pandemic ravaged the global aviation sector by grounding planes worldwide.

EasyJet said “the unprecedented ramp-up across the aviation industry, coupled with a tight labour market” had caused “widespread operational challenges culminating in higher levels of cancellations than normal”.

Despite the disruption, EasyJet operated 95 percent of its planned schedule in the quarter.

Airlines and airports are struggling to recruit staff having sacked thousands of workers as the world entered Covid pandemic lockdowns.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

Tech & Science

CMG is integrating advanced simulation tools with NVIDIA hardware and high-performance computing software to accelerate time-to-decision for energy leaders.

Entertainment

Fabian Arnold, David Millbern, and Meredith Thomas star in the new movie "Big Rage," which premiered on November 1st on Here TV.

Entertainment

Alison Victoria, interior designer, Emmy-nominated producer, and social influencer, chatted about her latest endeavors.

World

An explosion lights up the night sky over the south Lebanon town of Khiam - Copyright AFP -At least 10 strikes hit Beirut’s southern...