Thursday September 3, 12:28 PM
UPDATE 1-EasyJet to downsize in UK, over 250 jobs affected
LONDON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Low-cost airline easyJet Plc plans to switch some resources from Britain to continental Europe, blaming high airport costs and a rise in passenger taxes and saying the move would affect over 250 jobs.
The company said on Thursday it planned to cut its flying programme at London's Luton airport by a fifth and would close its East Midlands base.
It also plans to cut the number of flight crew at Belfast, Bristol, Newcastle and Stansted.
'The rise in APD (airport passenger duty) hits regional airports hardest and increases the pressure to move aircraft to mainland Europe,' Chief Executive Andy Harrison said.
'The government seems to think that APD is a free lunch. It isn't; it costs jobs in the UK.'
EasyJet (LSE: EZJ.L - news) also criticised Abertis (Madrid: BACE.MC - news) , the Spanish operator of Luton airport, and its owner, Luton Borough Council, for a 25 percent hike in airport costs over the past three years.
The airline said it remained committed to its medium-term goal to grow its network by around 7.5 percent a year and hoped to redeploy as many staff as possible.
A spokeswoman said 120 employees would be affected by the closure of East Midlands airport and around 40 by the planned reduction in flight crews.
She added around 100 of the firm's 530 staff in Luton could be affected by the decision to redeploy some aircraft to continental Europe.
EasyJet also reported a 4.7 percent increase in passenger numbers in August to 4.8 million.
At 1055 GMT, its shares were up 0.3 percent at 316-1/2 pence.
(Reporting by Mark Potter; Editing by David Holmes) Keywords: EASYJET/
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