Due to “challenging circumstances”, Easyjet cancels 1,700 flights in the summer Prime Minister Rutte is no longer interested in politics

Due to strikes, staff shortages and airspace closures, the British low-cost airline Easyjet is canceling around 1,700 flights during the summer holidays. Most connections are flights to or from Gatwick Airport south of London, the airline announced on Monday.

95 percent of affected passengers have already been rebooked on alternative flights. Another 90,000 flights would be operated between July and September, the cancellations would roughly correspond to the number of connections in one day.

Easyjet stressed that the entire industry faces “challenging conditions” this summer as the skies over Europe become increasingly tight due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace due to the Russian offensive war. Planned strikes at the air traffic control organization Eurocontrol can also have consequences.

The company said it had made “a number of preemptive adjustments to our program” which affected “a small number of flights at Gatwick”. Experts expect July to see the highest number of departures from Britain in a month since October 2019. Cirium industry analysts expect the number to be 11 percent higher than the same month last year. (sda/awp/dpa)