Budget carrier easyJet pulls out of regional UK airport, cuts capacity at Luton

Budget carrier easyJet cuts capacity in Britain

LONDON — Low-cost airline easyJet PLC said Monday it is closing its operations at a regional British airport and cutting capacity at its home base of London’s Luton airport by 20 percent.

The airline will cease operations at East Midlands Airport on Jan. 5. The airline operated 10 routes from East Midlands Airport — to Prague, Nice, Venice, Faro, Barcelona, Alicante, Malaga, Ibiza, Palma and Geneva.

Passengers booked to travel after Jan. 5 will be offered either a free transfer to another easyJet flight, a free transfer to a flight on low-cost airline bmibaby or a full refund.

The 20 percent capacity reduction at Luton means the airline will cease to operate routes to Athens, Cagliari and Vienna, and reduce frequencies on routes including Alicante, Dortmund, Edinburgh, Geneva, Glasgow, Nice and Paris.

The changes follow a three-month consultation with workers and the carrier said that all 107 affected cabin crew and pilots who requested to transfer to other easyJet bases will be accommodated.