The chief executive of EasyJet has issued a stark warning to the Chancellor against increasing flight taxes in Wednesday's Budget, arguing it would suppress demand from British holidaymakers.
Budget Warning as Profits Rise
Kenton Jarvis made his comments ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves' address to Parliament on Wednesday, with speculation mounting that she will announce an increase to Air Passenger Duty (APD) - the tax on flights departing from the UK.
Mr Jarvis emphasised that the duty on UK flights is already "one of the highest in Europe" and expressed hope that Ms Reeves would freeze the tax, cautioning that any increase would "naturally dampen demand" for air travel.
The warning came as the Luton-based airline group revealed a nine per cent rise in headline pre-tax profits to £665 million for the year to September 30, up from £610 million a year earlier.
Holidays Business Outperforms Airline
The company's growing package holidays division emerged as the star performer, with annual earnings surging 32 per cent to £250 million, allowing the group to meet its earnings target ahead of schedule.
This strong performance has prompted EasyJet to increase its earnings target for the holidays arm to £450 million by 2029-30.
However, the picture was less rosy for the airline division itself, where annual headline profits declined to £415 million from £420 million the previous year. The company acknowledged that improving the carrier's performance had proven "more challenging" than anticipated, particularly during winter months.
EasyJet attributed these challenges to "the pace of route maturity and the wider geopolitical, macro-economic and competitive environment in specific markets."
In response, the airline has cut seat capacity growth for the year ahead to around seven per cent, down from nine per cent in 2024-25.
Despite the overall profits increase, shares in EasyJet fell three per cent following the announcement.
Major Route Expansion Across UK Airports
The financial results were accompanied by news of significant expansion, with EasyJet announcing 16 new routes from eight UK airports for next summer.
The airline is continuing its expansion into sub-Saharan Africa by adding its third route from the UK to Sal in Cape Verde from Bristol, joining existing services from London Gatwick and Manchester. Flights from Bristol will commence on May 1 and operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Other new routes from Bristol include services to Bari in Italy starting April 18 and Seville in Spain from May 2.
From Manchester, the carrier will launch new flights to Montpellier in France on March 30 and Preveza in Greece on June 24.
Liverpool will see two new routes taking off to Lisbon in Portugal from March 31 and Paphos in Cyprus from August 2.
Newcastle is set to benefit from new flights to Tenerife starting August 1, meaning the airline will offer 20 routes from the airport next summer. EasyJet is preparing to open a new three-aircraft base at Newcastle next spring.
The expansion also includes new routes from Birmingham and Glasgow airports, significantly increasing connectivity for British travellers ahead of the summer 2026 season.
