easyJet PLC (LON:EZJ) reported a 3.4% increase in passenger numbers for March despite flight cancellations resulting from the so-called ‘Beast from the East’.
The 'Beast from the East’ brought over unusually cold weather for March from Siberia to Europe.
easyJet was forced to cancel more than 1,000 flights due to adverse weather conditions across Europe and a further 200 due to industrial action in France and Italy. In total, the airline cancelled 1,274 flights in March, compared to 575 the same time last year.
The company still carried 6.5 million passengers last month, up from 6.3 million last year.
The load factor – the number of passengers as a proportion to the number of seats available – rose 0.7 percentage points (pts) to 93.4%.
In the year to March, passenger numbers increased 8.6% to 82.5 million while the load factor climbed 1.5 pts to 93.3%.
READ: Low-cost airlines Wizz Air and Ryanair carry more passengers in March
easyJet said passenger numbers continue to be in line with expectations.
Earlier this week airlines Ryanair Holdings PLC (LON:RYA), Wizz Air Holdings PLC (LON:WIZZ) and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group PLC (LON:IAG) all reported an increase in passenger numbers for March.
