The airport chaos just keeps getting worse. Budget airline EasyJet, which has been at the epicentre of the last few months’ travel disruption, has announced it will be cancelling even more flights than expected this summer.
The carrier says it is trying to take pre-emptive action to ‘increase resilience’, essentially saying that it wants to give customers more advance notice for cancelled flights. It follows the news that both London Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol will limit passenger numbers this summer.
So how many flights will be cancelled? Well, the exact number hasn’t yet been announced. What we do know, however, is that while EasyJet was originally aiming to run around 97 percent of flights this summer, that’s now been cut back to 90 percent. The airline says all customers will be given advance notice and have the chance to rebook on to alternative flights within 24 hours of the original booking.
EasyJet’s announcement comes after months of bedlam at airports across Europe (and especially the UK), which has seen travellers face thousands of cancelled flights and lengthy queues at airports. The problems have largely been caused by a lack of staff, as both airlines and airports made so many staff redundant during the pandemic and haven’t been able to re-hire quickly enough to keep up with passenger demand.
On the slightly brighter side, at least these flights are being cancelled in advance. Hopefully that’ll mean fewer people stranded in airports and/or stressfully having to figure out last-minute ways to reach their destination.
If you’ve booked an EasyJet flight, be sure to keep an eye out for updates to your booking.
ICYMI: here are 10 ways to make sure you avoid holiday hell this summer.
Plus: Gatwick Airport is cutting loads and loads of flights this summer.