BGN Entrepreneur

Airline easyJet has announced proposals to cut its flights from Luton airport by 20% and close its East Midlands base.
It blames rising costs at Luton, where it has its head office, claiming a 25% rise over the past three years. It added that the East Midlands airport near Nottingham, where it has three planes, had remained stagnant and these would be shifted to more profitable bases.
The move to cutback on costs follows a similar step by rival Ryanair which recently announced that it would stop using Manchester airport in a row over charges. Airlines have been facing tough decisions as the industry battles the recession and easyJet said it will move this capacity to more profitable airports.
It added that it expects that most of the aircraft will be redeployed to continental European bases. Passengers who have booked flights from Luton will not be affected by the cuts, while those at East Midlands up to the end of 2009 are unaffected, others will be notified well in advance.
Jobs are expected to be lost at both Luton and East Midlands and easyJet attacked the Government’s decision not to reform Air Passenger Duty, saying this was hitting airlines. The airline said its overall growth plans remain unchanged at 7.5% per year.

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