EasyJet will close its Madrid base this winter following a review of its operations which revealed the Spanish airport was delivering turns below all its other bases due to a combination of over capacity in the Spanish market and high airport charges.
The airline said it will continue to serve Spain but it will no longer base aircraft and crew at Madrid. Instead, it will move its aircraft to other bases around its European network.
EasyJet said charges at Madrid had more than doubled in two years and would be subject to further above inflation rises in the coming years.
While easyJet proposes to reduce its capacity to and from Madrid by around 20% in the next financial year, the reduction to and from Spain will be 7%. After the proposed changes easyJet expects to carry over 12 million passengers to and from Spain next year.
The airline said it was reviewing a range of options for its eight Madrid based aircraft and 310 crew. All of easyJet’s pilots and cabin crew in Madrid will be offered a job in the airline’s other bases, it said. It is due to discuss the proposal with the easyJet European Works Council and local employee representatives.
Any restructuring costs arising out of this proposal will be accounted for in the current financial year, but the airline said these should be offset by the fall in fuel prices since May. "Consequently management expectations for profit before tax for the financial year ending 30 September 2012 remain unchanged," it said.
By Linsey McNeill
Wednesday June 20th 2012
