EasyJet insists summer getaway safe despite Easter staff illness of up to 20%

Airline plans for surge in bookings by recruiting employees amid disruption and cancellations

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The chief executive of easyJet has insisted that the great summer getaway will not be ruined, despite as many as a fifth of staff being off sick amid a wave of Covid, resulting in hundreds of flight cancellations.

Johan Lundgren said the airline had recruited 1,100 new staff in preparation for a summer bookings surge, expected to take passenger numbers above pre-pandemic levels.