Politics
Holiday warning as EasyJet plans to CUT number of passengers allowed on flights in bid to tackle summer staff shortages
BRITS heading on holiday have been warned as EasyJet plans to CUT the number of passengers allowed on flights in a bid to tackle summer staff shortages.
EasyJet plans to remove a number of seats on its flights so that the airline can fly with less crew in the next few months.
Ben Queenborough/PinPepEasyJet will be cutting the number of passengers allowed on planes to deal with the staff shortage[/caption]
The Civil Aviation Authority bases its requirements on the number of crew members needed per flight on the number of passengers flying.
By removing the back row of seats on its A319 planes, the budget airline will be able to fly with three crew members instead of four.
However, this would limit the number of passengers per flight to 150.
In a statement, EasyJet said that this was an “effective way” of operating its fleet this summer.
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The airline has been struggling to keep up with demand since pandemic restrictions were lifted.
They said: “This summer we will be operating our UK A319 fleet with a maximum of 150 passengers onboard and three crew in line with CAA regulations.
“This is an effective way of operating our fleet while building additional resilience and flexibility into our operation this summer where we expect to be back to near 2019 levels of flying.”
It comes after European airlines, including EasyJet, were forced to cancel thousands of flights in the lead-up to Easter.
The airline expects to operate “near” pre-pandemic levels of flying this summer.
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It operated at 80 per cent of 2019 capacity in the first three months of this year.
And airline bosses have blamed the chaos on slow security checking processes overseen by the Government.
This comes after a Tui queue was seen snaking outside an airport’s DOOR as hundreds of desperate holidaymakers waited to get on their flights.
The travel chaos left holidaymakers queueing in a massive line with their luggage on Saturday morning outside Birmingham Airport.
Shocking pictures show the huge line snaking around the airport building – with holidaymakers unable to even get inside the terminal.
People were forced to wait for hours because of a delayed flight, amid the airport’s staffing crisis.
Many UK airports have been plagued by queueing chaos thanks to significant staff shortages.
Travellers have complained of mammoth lines at check-in desks and severe hold-ups through security.
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The problems, which also include difficulty recruiting, have pushed several airlines to cancel huge numbers of flights.
And industry experts have warned Brits to get to arrive in plenty of time to avoid missing take-off.
