'Rubbish' rosters lead easyJet to cut flights
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Your support makes all the difference.The cut-price airline easyJet is to cancel more flights next week because of a new rostering system the company admits is "rubbish". The move comes after thousands of passengers were delayed last Sunday when Europe's biggest budget airline cancelled 19 flights.
Vilhelm Hahn-Petersen, the airline's operations director, said it simply did not have enough trained staff to cope with the explosion in passenger numbers. But a company spokesman said the new cancellations were not about staff shortages. "We have introduced a new rostering system which is causing us all manner of problems. It's a rubbish system and we are changing it.
"Crews have not been where they should be and we have had to take some flights out of the system. We have also suffered from delays caused by air traffic control and from problems at Luton airport." He said the flights to be pulled would be the least popular ones.
In a letter to easyJet's pilots, Mr Hahn-Petersen said the airline was "stretched to the limit". He added: "It is very clear that the current situation cannot continue. Right now it feels soul destroying and the bottom line is we can now conclude that the 60 per cent growth coupled with four new crew bases and lots of new routes has stretched us significantly." He said flight numbers would have to be cut.
An easyJet pilot was reported as saying: "I have repeatedly told managers the situation has become dangerous but their only concern is profits. They have pushed staff to the limits and now we are seeing the consequences. "
EasyJet at first blamed air traffic control problems for Sunday's cancellations, but British Airways, which had five times as many flights that day, had no cancellations caused by air traffic control problems.
EasyJet, founded by the Greek millionaire Stelios Haji-Ioannou, bought its budget rival Go for £374m last week. The airline has said it will continue to expand across Europe.
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