Airline easyJet cancels more than 200 flights

LONDON (Reuters) – Low-cost carrier easyJet is to cancel more than 200 flights over the next 10 days due to airport delays and other restrictions, disrupting travel during the school holidays.

The European airline has been hit by a string of problems since the removal of COVID restrictions led to a rebound in travel, with many British airports struggling to recruit enough ground staff while easyJet has also struggled with IT problems.

It recently removed six seats from some A319 aircraft to reduce the crew it needed by one.

It said in a statement on Saturday it would cancel around 24 flights a day from London’s Gatwick Airport between May 28 and June 6. It was forced to cancel around 200 flights on Thursday due an IT problem.

“We are very sorry for the late notice of some of these cancellations and inconvenience caused for customers booked on these flights however we believe this is necessary to provide reliable services over this busy period,” it said.

“Customers are being informed from today and provided with the option to rebook their flight or receive a refund and can apply for compensation in line with regulations.”

(Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)