It was a fear of the pilots.
The British low-cost airline EasyJet announced on Monday a reduction in its transport capacity this summer due to an acute shortage of staff.
The goal: to avoid chaos at airports like in recent weeks.
“There will be a cost of the impact” of these measures, warns EasyJet without further details, even if it affirms that the medium-term outlook remains “attractive”, according to a press release.
Given the “unprecedented” acceleration in traffic in the first half of 2022 thanks to the lifting of health restrictions, “aviation in Europe is facing operational difficulties” which include “delays in traffic control and staff shortages ” in airports, which leads to delays and cancellations in series, justifies EasyJet.
“A very tight labor market for the entire sector, including cabin crew, and increasing times to verify the identities” of candidates for aviation jobs are hampering efforts to speed up the offer, she adds.
“Strong” reservations
The group also points out that bookings remain "strong", with those for the fourth quarter similar to their pre-pandemic level for financial year 2019. The British carrier is now expecting its staggered third quarter, which ends on June 30, on a transport capacity of 87% of the levels of the 2019 financial year, against 90% planned until then.
This represents 140,000 flights for 22 million passengers, and 550% of capacity for the same period in fiscal year 2021, when pandemic-related restrictions still paralyzed most traffic.
In the fourth quarter, which ends on September 30, the transport capacity is expected to be around 90% of the level of the 2019 financial year, against 97% until then.
EasyJet believes it will be able to fly most affected travelers on alternative flights, "many on the same day as originally booked", and promises to notify customers in advance.
Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Sophie Lund-yates notes that "these plans will lengthen the (post-pandemic) recovery for EasyJet", with "huge" costs of ramping up supply.
However, she notes that “the trend is positive and that the demand for travel is there”.