Up to 180,000 British holidaymakers have had their summer plans thrown into question after Budget carrier easyJet plc announced the cancellation of 1,700 flights over July, August and September.
An easyJet spokeswoman attempted to downplay the cancellations, stating: “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.”
She said the whole industry is in for a challenging summer, pointing to constrained airspace due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, as well as the possibility of further air traffic control strikes on the continent.
Pan-European air traffic controller Eurocontro has warned that one of its unions is considering industrial action at an unspecified time later this year.
“We have therefore made some preemptive adjustments to our programme consolidating a small number of flights at Gatwick, where we have multiple daily frequencies, in order to help mitigate these external challenges on the day of travel for our customers and we continue to operate around over 90,000 flights over this period.”
All affected customers have been given the option of rebooking or receiving a refund, with 95% having already rebooked on an alternative flight.
The delays pale in comparison to 2022, when more than a third of UK flights were cancelled, causing chaos across all major airports.
easyJet passengers bore the brunt of the 2022 chaos, causing chief operating officer Peter Bellew to resign after just two years with the company