Easyjet takes £15m hit from ‘unacceptable’ French air traffic control strikes
Easyjet has revealed a hit of around £15m from recent air traffic control disruption in France as it warned the “scale of industrial action” would impact annual profits.
“We are extremely unhappy with the strike action by the French ATC in early July, which as well as presenting unacceptable challenges for customers and crew also created unexpected and significant costs for all airlines,” chief executive Kenton Jarvis said in a statement.
Holidaymakers flying between the UK and Europe have faced record flight delays this summer as French air traffic control strikes tear up schedules and cause hundreds of cancellations.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has called for the resignation of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen over the issues, arguing she has failed to protect overflights across France.
Despite the issues, Easyjet reported a 21.2 per cent increase in quarterly pre-tax profit to £286m as passenger numbers edged up to nearly 26m. It is also factoring in a £10m hit for the year ending September due to higher fuel costs.
Group revenue rose 10.9 per cent to £2.9bn, driven by a strong performance from the firm’s lucrative holiday arm.
Easyjet holidays brought in £86m in pre-tax profit over the quarter, up £13m year-on-year and leading to expected full-year profits of more than £235m.
Jarvis said: “We performed well in the quarter, increasing profits alongside improving operational performance which has boosted easyJet’s customer satisfaction scores and we continued to see strong demand from our customers.
Outlook still positive, says Easyjet
He described the group’s outlook this year and onward as “positive… as we continue to focus on progressing towards our medium-term targets.”
Forward bookings for the fourth quarter are around 67 per cent sold, slightly ahead this time last year. Easyjet said a “trend towards later bookings continues to be seen,” meaning the final full-year outcome would depend on late summer reservations.
Shares in the low-cost carrier have fallen around five per cent this year to date despite strong travel demand. Alongside Europe’s ATC problems, it has also faced headwinds from escalating tensions in the Middle East, which have caused some route cancellations.
Easyjet is expecting an addition