Passenger growth at easyJet hampered by industrial action

EasyJet posted a 2.3% rise in passenger numbers year-on-year for June on Thursday, to 7.901 million people, with its load factor for the month rising 0.5 percentage points to 95.4%.

The FTSE 100 low-cost carrier said that, on a rolling 12-month basis, passenger numbers were ahead 6.6% at 83.273 million to 30 June.

Its load factor on a rolling 12-month basis was 93.5% at the end of the month, up 1.5 percentage points.

Once again, EasyJet noted that its passenger statistics did not include Tegel operations, as it continued to integrate the operations of the defunct Air Berlin at that airport.

“There were 1,263 cancellations in June 2018 - equivalent to 2.7 percentage points of planned capacity and up on the 213 experienced in June 2017,” the EasyJet board said in its statement.

“Around 900 were due to French and Italian industrial action with a further 150 arising from ATC restrictions and adverse weather conditions.”