EasyJet takes £15m hit from Gatwick drone chaos

Low-cost airline easyJet has revealed a £15 million hit from the drone chaos at Gatwick Airport last month which affected 82,000 customers.

The group said it booked £10 million in extra costs and £5 million in lost revenues after more than 400 of its flights were cancelled when the drone sightings brought Gatwick to a standstill just before Christmas.

Chief executive Johan Lundgren said the group “did everything we could to help our customers affected by the incident”.

He added: “There has been be a one-off cost impact from this incident, but underlying cost progress is in line with expectations.

“I am proud of the way our teams worked around the clock to mitigate the impact of the incident and looked after affected customers.”