Jet2 FY23 performance will depend on services returning to normal following travel chaos

Jet2 said this year’s performance will depend on how quickly services could return to normal, as the airline was one of the worst hit by travel chaos during the half-term and Bank Holiday weekend.

Shares went down by 9.76 today.

The group laid the blame on airports, calling them “woefully ill-prepared and poorly resourced,” especially as flights had been on sale for a few months and load factors continued to grow.

“This difficult return to normal operations has occurred simply because of the lack of planning, preparedness and unwillingness to invest by many airports and associated suppliers,” said executive chairman Philip Meeson.

Meeson’s remarks came after the company slashed its operating loss by 4 per cent, going from £336.1m to £323.9m in the year ended 31 March. 

Compared with the 1.32 million passengers flown in 2021, Jet2 carried 4.85 million passengers this year, contributing to an increase in revenue of 211 per cent.

Nevertheless, statutory pre-tax losses went up 13.9 per cent, to £388.8m. 
Commenting on the results, the chairman said the group continued to “believe that opportunities for us to grow share as a financially strong and trusted package holiday provider will only increase.”