UK budget carrier EasyJet is to axe its East Midlands Airport base and cut its flight programme at London Luton by 20%.
The carrier is reducing the Luton services after failing to secure better charging terms, while it says its East Midlands base has "remained stagnant for many years".
EasyJet says it will shift most of the spare capacity created to continental Europe. It has three aircraft stationed at East Midlands and around 16 at Luton.
The airline says it has opened a formal 90-day consultation period with its crews at both UK airports.
But it is also to consult on cutting flight crew numbers at four other sites - London Stansted, Belfast, Bristol and Newcastle - although aircraft numbers at these locations will remain stable.
EasyJet had been in discussions with Luton Airport's operator over its charging scheme. But it says the talks have broken down and it has "no alternative" but to redistribute its flights to "more profitable airports".
"We are one of only a few airlines expecting to make a profit this year," says EasyJet chief Andy Harrison. "A critical part of our success has been optimising the allocation of our aircraft across our 19 European bases.
"This means responding to airports with uncompetitive costs as well as moving swiftly to seize opportunities as competitors retreat."
EasyJet insists that the changes will not affect its overall expansion plan to grow by 7.5% per year in the medium term.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
