Easyjet suffers £40m hit from Israel crisis

EASYJET has suffered a £40m hit to profits as a result of turmoil in the Middle East, as the low-cost carrier has been forced to scrap flights over safety fears.

The financial impact of Israel’s conflict with Hamas was laid bare in easyjet’s half-year results yesterday, as it posted a £350m loss from October to March.

It comes just days after easyjet halted flights to Tel Aviv for the rest of the summer after Iran launched missile and drone strikes against Israel. Operations to the city of Aqaba in Jordan were also put on hold until next winter. Easyjet previously halted services to Tel Aviv in the aftermath of the Oct 7 attacks, with the cancellations affecting 4pc of winter capacity.

Routes to nearby Egypt also suffered “demand softness” following the onset of the conflict, easyjet added.

Despite this, the airline said it successfully narrowed its losses by around £50m in the first half of the year, aided by strong demand for flights at Easter.

The airline also predicted a strong summer season across the network as bookings and prices head higher.

Easyjet said ticket sales going into the summer are ahead of last year, as are fares, while the holiday division has already sold 70pc of its offering.

That should help put easyjet on course to achieve a £100m boost in summer profit based on analyst predictions, though the company declined to provide a full-year forecast.

The squeeze on household incomes is showing no sign of affecting sales, with customers of easyjet holidays increasingly choosing four and five-star hotels.

Johan Lundgren, the chief executive, said: “We are well set up operationally for this summer season where we expect easyjet to be one of the fastest growing major airlines in Europe.”