Aviation minister Baroness Vere was due to meet EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren yesterday after the carrier announced 1,700 summer flight cancellations.
The disclosure came as the issue was raised during questions by MPs on transport matters in the House of Commons on Thursday.
Conservative chair of the transport committee Iain Stewart called on transport secretary Mark Harper to provide assurances to families poised to fly off on summer holidays.
Stewart said: “As we approach the end of the school year, many families will be looking forward to setting off on their summer holidays, but there are concerns that industrial action in Europe will lead to flight cancellations and delays.
“People will also be mindful of the disruption at our ports and airports in recent times. What assurance can the secretary of state give me and those families that the system will be resilient to ensure that they can get away?”
Harper responded by saying he was sure the question was prompted by one airline making “some modest changes” to its flight schedule during the summer.
The transport secretary added: “No other airline has indicated to the department that it will be cancelling flights ahead of the summer.
“We will continue to engage with airlines on that matter. The aviation minister is meeting with the chief executive officer of EasyJet later today to discuss its announcement.
“My team is meeting with the CEO of National Air Traffic Services to get an update on its operational readiness.
“We have already worked with the aviation industry to make sure that, this year, it is prepared for the busy summer period so that we avoid the problems that we had last year.
“We have received appropriate assurances, but I hope that we can reassure those whom referred to in his question.”
EasyJet insisted that less than a day’s-worth of flying had been cut from its summer schedule in the face of air traffic control restrictions across European airspace with the majority of affected services at Gatwick – the airline’s largest base.
Around 1,700 flights have been cancelled out of a total of 90,000 across the budget airline’s network for the remainder of the summer.