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PRIVACY
Retail & Consumer

easyJet's chief operating officer quits as flight cancellations scupper holidaymakers' plans

The aviation industry has come under fire in recent weeks as airlines around the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ have been forced to cancel flights

An easyJet aircraft(Image: Bristol News and Media)

The chief operating officer (COO) of budget airline easyJet has quit, the carrier has announced.

Peter Bellew has resigned to "pursue other business opportunities", easyJet said, and David Morgan has been appointed to lead the operations function as interim COO.

Mr Morgan has been with easyJet since 2016, including almost a year as interim COO in 2019 when he oversaw operations. He will report directly into chief executive Johan Lundgren.

Mr Lundgren said: “I would like to thank Peter for his hard work and wish him well. Everyone at easyJet remains absolutely focused on delivering a safe and reliable operation this summer.

“I am pleased that operations will be in the very capable hands of David Morgan who can move seamlessly into this role having previously led the operation."

Mr Lundgren said Mr Morgan had "significant experience and deep knowledge" of the business and its operations - and would provide "strong leadership" for the airline this summer.

The news comes amid major disruption at º£½ÇÊÓÆµ airports as a number of airlines, including easyJet, have cancelled summer flights due to staff shortages. The aviation sector was forced to axe thousands of jobs during the pandemic as flights were grounded - and many airports and airlines have since struggled to hire enough new staff to deal with the resurgent demand of air travel.

The disruption looks set to continue this month, according to , which has reported Spanish easyJet workers are planning to strike in a dispute over pay.