EasyJet does not believe the recent terror attacks in Paris and Sharm el-Sheikh will have a long-term impact on its business, even though the carrier is one of the biggest serving both cities.
Chief executive Carolyn McCall said the airline is currently trying to encourage passengers who want to cancel flights to Paris to defer their trips or switch to another destination.
She said if they were ‘really determined’ not the travel in the wake of last Friday’s terror attacks, the airline would offer refunds.
However, McCall said the IS rampage in Paris last Friday and the bombing of a Russian passenger plane over Egypt earlier this month would not deter tourists for long.
She admitted there would be a ‘cooling off’ among passengers, but she said historically traffic growth has always resumed following such tragic events.
The airline’s chief said travel to alternative winter sun destinations, such as the Canary Islands and Cyprus was strong. She admitted Morocco was doing less well following the twin terrorist attacks on tourists in neighbouring Tunisia, including the slaying of 38 people including British holidaymakers in a beach resort, this summer.
EasyJet will resume flights to Egypt, she said, when the UK government tells the airline it’s safe.
In the meantime, the carrier said all its passengers who were stranded in Sharm when regular holiday flights were suspended by the UK government almost two weeks ago will be back home by this evening.
