easyJet pilots warn of ‘meltdowns’ and ‘worst is still to come’ in leaked letter

A leaked letter from a group of French easyJet pilots raised the issue of the impact on air crew of stress caused by the pandemic and subsequent disruption, calling for extra support and saying “mental health is at stake”

easyJet pilots have warned that the company faces an exodus of customers after “unprecedented chaos” at the airline, it has been reported.

In a leaked letter the French pilots accused the budget airline of cancelling viable flights and suffering “operational meltdowns” after its top executives failed to heed warnings that the carrier could not cope with surging demand.

The letter, seen by the i paper, comes after airline customers endured a torrid half-term of delays and cancellations.

In response, the easyJet branch of the French SNPL pilots’ union wrote a letter in which the airline is blamed for the disruption.

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It also warns that the chaos has not reached its peak, something it calls a “frightening prospect”.

The pilots also raised the issue of the impact on air crew of stress caused by the pandemic and subsequent disruption, calling for extra support and saying “mental health is at stake”.

In response to the letter, easyJet said it was continuing to operate up to 1,700 flights a day across its network, which meant 250,000 people were transported each day.

The pilots’ letter, which is addressed to easyJet’s Swedish chief executive Johan Lundgren, accused the airline of believing they could deliver a summer schedule with “less flight crew, cabin crew, or flight planning officers”, i reports.

It added: “Operational employees, who knew but were not listened to, are now witnessing the consequences.”

It also lambasts the airline for cancellations caused by a lack of crew, which saw customers being turned away from cancelled flights minute before they were due to depart.

The pilots say that staff have explained to senior managers how bad the situation has got.

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

EasyJet says it is in continuous dialogue with its unions and remains “absolutely focused” on its daily operation.

In a statement, the airline said: “Delivering a safe and reliable operation for our customers and crew is the airline’s highest priority.

“EasyJet continues to operate up to around 1,700 flights and carry around a quarter of a million customers every day.

“However, the ongoing challenging operating environment continues to have an impact which is resulting in a small proportion of flight cancellations.

“We are absolutely focused on our daily operation and continue to monitor this very closely and will not hesitate to take action as needed.”

The Mirror has been covering chaos endured by easyJet customers over the past few weeks.

This includes the story of a group of women on a hen party who forked out £5,000 extra after their flight was cancelled.

We also covered the story of two teachers and their children who were among the Brits stuck abroad and missing school last week due to flight cancellations.