Jul. 27—EasyJet and Heathrow Airport reported heavy financial hits from the chaos that has engulfed the travel sector.
The budget airline said staff shortages amid an 'unprecedented' surge in demand as travel curbs were relaxed cost it £133m in the three months to the end of June, pushing it into a £114m loss for the period.
Despite the disruption, EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren said the situation had 'normalised' after the airline slashed schedules.
As a result, the company operated 95pc of its planned schedule in the quarter and its performance in July was 'much improved' compared with previous months. Shares in the carrier inched down 0.1pc, or 0.5p, to 373.3p.
Meanwhile, Heathrow posted a loss for the six months to June 30 of £321m, significantly lower than the £787m loss reported a year ago, as passenger numbers rebounded from the pandemic.
The privately-owned airport blamed recent disruptions and continued losses on a lack of airline ground staff, adding that it had been raising concerns with carriers about worker numbers for nine months.
'Airlines need to recruit and train more ground handlers,' said Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye.
Speaking to LBC, the chief executive blamed delays on passengers faking disabilities to get 'fast-tracked' as well as travellers not 'checking in all of their make-up' before security.
The results came as airlines and airports across Europe struggle to deal with a surge in demand which has led to serious delays and cancellations, while Heathrow imposed a cap on passenger numbers this month.
EasyJet's rival budget carrier Ryanair has blamed airports for the travel chaos and warned that the era of cheap flights is coming to an end.
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