After a string of cancellations and disruptions at EasyJet in recent weeks, the airline’s chief operating office has resigned.
According to the airline, Peter Bellew had resigned in order “to pursue other business opportunities”, and they wished him well.
This comes after thousands of EasyJet flight cancellations, some with short notice.
Last month, Trade Union Unite criticized the airline’s lack of leadership and asked Mr. Bellew to “take charge”.
Johan Lundgren, EasyJet’s chief executive, announced the resignation of Mr Bellew and stated that the airline was “absolutely focusing on delivering a safety-and reliable operation this summer.”
He stated that David Morgan, who will be providing strong leadership for the airline’s summer, would assume the interim role of chief operations officer.
Since 2016, Mr Morgan has been with EasyJet and is currently the director of flight operations. As interim chief operating officer, he had previously been in charge of overall operations.
Despite losing thousands of jobs in the Covid pandemic period, the aviation industry is struggling to keep up with rising travel demand.
In recent months, EasyJet was one of the most affected by cancellations. It has cancelled thousands of flights, many of which were scheduled to depart on the same day.
It announced late last month that it would cancel some flights over the summer to increase resilience and to respond to restrictions imposed by London Gatwick airports and Amsterdam Schiphol airports.
This gave customers notice in advance and the possibility to rebook.
EasyJet stated that it will not announce any additional cancellations this week, even though it will have used the slot “amnesty” provided by the government. According to the airline, customers who were affected by cancellations would be notified on Monday.
Only 150,000 of the 160,000 flights originally scheduled to fly over July, August, and September will be cancelled. About 10,000 flights have been cancelled, or about 6%.
According to the airline, the cancellations did not affect the majority of its flights and it continued to operate up 1,700 flights per day.
EasyJet shares, which fell back to March 2020 lows at the beginning of the pandemic, traded down almost 3% following the announcement – making them one of the largest fallers in the FTSE 250 index.
Expect more cancellations by a number of airlines this week, as the government gave carriers until Friday to make changes to their schedules and avoid any potential penalties.
This is an attempt at minimizing disruptions during peak summer holiday seasons.
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