Low-cost airline EasyJet plans to switch some resources from Britain to continental Europe, blaming high airport costs and a rise in passenger taxes and saying the move would affect over 250 jobs.
The company said today it planned to cut its flying programme at London's Luton airport by a fifth and would close its East Midlands base. It also plans to cut the number of flight crew at Belfast, Bristol, Newcastle and Stansted.
However it said the number of aircraft based at Belfast and the other airports was expected to remain the same and flights from them were 'wholly unaffected' and would operate as planned.
'The move simply aims to ensure the right crewing levels for future flying,' the company in a statement said. 'There are sufficient opportunities within EasyJet's growing network for all employees who are affected by today's announcement, and it is EasyJet's intention to redeploy as many as possible,' it added.
EasyJet currently has 19 destinations on its schedule out of Belfast International Airport where it is the largest single scheduled operator.
'The rise in APD (airport passenger duty) hits regional airports hardest and increases the pressure to move aircraft to mainland Europe,' the airline's CEO Andy Harrison said today. '
The government seems to think that APD is a free lunch. It isn't; it costs jobs in the UK,'' he added.
EasyJet also criticised Abertis, the Spanish operator of Luton airport, and its owner, Luton Borough Council, for a 25% hike in airport costs over the past three years.
The airline said it remained committed to its medium-term goal to grow its network by around 7.5% a year and hoped to redeploy as many staff as possible.
A spokeswoman said 120 employees would be affected by the closure of East Midlands airport and around 40 by the planned reduction in flight crews. She added around 100 of the firm's 530 staff in Luton could be affected by the decision to redeploy some aircraft to continental Europe.
EasyJet also today reported a 4.7% increase in passenger numbers in August to 4.8 million.
Meanwhile, Ryanair says it carried just under 6.9 million passengers in August, up 19% from the same month last year. The load factor - pecentage of seats filled - was unchanged at 90%.
