EasyJet cancels more than 600 extra flights this month

EASYJET is cancelling around 40 flights a day to and from the UK for the rest of the month.

The airline, which was among the worst hit by the cancellations chaos over half term, is pre-emptively scrapping the flights to try and overcome staffing issues.

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In a message to staff seen by The Guardian, easyJet’s chief operating officer Peter Bellew said: “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,”

The cancellations over the last few weeks have seen passengers left thousands of pounds out of pocket, stranded abroad and even sleeping on airport floors.

And one group of more than 50 pensioners were stuck on a 12-hour easyJet flight – only to end up back where they started.

Queues have swelled in the departure halls of airports such as Manchester, Bristol and Gatwick as the nation’s airports buckle under the strain of post-Covid travel.

Footage emerged last month, showing frustrated passengers clambering onto a luggage carousel in an attempt to find their bags after long waits.

An easyJet spokesperson said: “Due to the ongoing impact of the challenging operating environment on our daily operations, we have made a small proportion of additional advance flight cancellations for June.

“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, and our customer service hours have been extended to support affected customers.

“We continue to monitor the operation closely and take action in advance as needed.”

Just a few days ago, EasyJet pilots warned Brits to expect “frightening” disruption levels this summer, with more flight cancellations.

In a letter seen by the i, the easyJet branch of the French SNPL pilot’s union have said that disruption is yet to reach its peak after top executives failed to avoid the “unprecedented chaos” in recent weeks.

The letter said: “Literally hundreds of employees in distress have fed back how chaotic our operations have become recently, to unprecedented levels.

“We are actually convinced that our disruption hasn’t even peaked yet and frankly this is a frightening prospect.”

Amidst the latest travel chaos, Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert.com  has issued fresh advice to customers that they are due an alternative flight or full refund if their flights have been cancelled or delayed.

If the cancellation happened less than 14 days before departure you could be owed hundreds in compensation in addition as well.

The amount you are due will depend on the length of time between cancellation, the date you were due to fly, and the distance you were due to travel.

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