EasyJet has pre-emptively cancelled 40 flights a day for the rest of June in a bid to avoid more travel disruption.
The budget airline has reduced its June schedule so it can give customers advance warning they will not be able to fly instead of waiting to inform them on the day, according to The Guardian.
Chief operating officer Pete Bellew told the newspaper the airline was making “pre-emptive” cancellations.
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“We want to share the plan on this very soon however, we also need to deal with the immediate operation,” he said. “We’re making some pre-emptive cancellations for the coming days and weeks in order to increase resilience across the network.”
“Making these cancellations is not something we take lightly but what’s worse is to cancel our customers’ plans on the day that they are ready to fly.
“We are informing customers in advance to minimise the impact on their plans and provide the option to rebook before travelling or receive a refund.”
Following weeks of aviation disruption due to staff shortages, easyJet reportedly cancelled more than 60 flights today (June 13), at least 44 of which were scheduled to fly from Gatwick.
According to The Independent, the day’s only flights to Sicilian capital Palermo and Olbia in Sardinia were cancelled, as were three round-trips to Milan Malpensa, and return flights to Bristol from Belfast International, Copenhagen and Edinburgh, affecting a total of 10,000 passengers.
Additionally, agents said they have been told the airline has cancelled all bookings to Hurghada, Egypt until the end of July.
Travel Weekly has contacted easyJet for comment.