News

Easyjet confirms closure of Stansted, Southend and Newcastle bases

18 Aug 2020 by Tom Otley
Newcastle Airport

Easyjet has confirmed that it will close its bases at London Stansted, London Southend and Newcastle airports. The airline will cease based operations from August 31, 2020.

Easyjet has been in a collective consultation period for the past three months

Easyjet could close bases at Newcastle, Southend and Stansted

It says it “remains committed to working with BALPA on next phase and continues to work with Unite on the individual consultation process” and that the “Consultation has reduced the need for compulsory redundancies through enhanced voluntary redundancy scheme and [it] continues to look at options to reduce job losses overall.

The airline is blaming the Covid-19 pandemic along with quarantine measures in the UK for the closures.

The effect on customers is that all flights due to operate to and from London Southend Airport from 1 September 2020 will be cancelled.

In addition, some flights to and from London Stansted and Newcastle will be cancelled, though not all.

The routes continuing are:

  • Newcastle to Bristol, Belfast and Nice
  • London Stansted to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and Amsterdam

The airline has already been contacting passengers whose flights have been cancelled, giving “clear guidance” on options, which include:

  • Switching to another EasyJet flight. If a flight is available from another airport, the airline says it will reimburse costs incurred for getting to the new airport departure point by train, bus or hire car.
  • Claiming a voucher for the full value of the ticket. The voucher is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
  • Claiming a refund.

Easyjet will continue operate at eight UK bases, serving over 490 routes.

Johan Lundgren, Easyjet’s CEO, said:

“We have had to take the very difficult decision to close three UK bases as a result of the unprecedented impact of the pandemic and related travel restrictions, compounded by quarantine measures in the UK which is impacting demand for travel.

“We would like to reassure customers due to fly from these airports that we are now contacting anyone whose flight is affected with clear advice on their options which include rerouting via alternative airports or receiving a full refund.”

“I know this is a very difficult time for our pilots and crew and I would like to thank them for their continued professionalism.”

easyjet.com

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