The carrier made the disclosure in a first-half trading update issued on Thursday morning (16 April) covering business in the six months to the end of March 2026. EasyJet said it expects to report a headline pre-tax loss of between £540 million and £560 million over the winter, despite positive and strong demand for flights and holidays.
"The underlying first‑half result was broadly in line with expectations, with revenue and costs in line, excluding approximately £25 million of additional fuel costs in March due to the Middle East conflict and around a £30 million net increase in legal provisions across a number of historic cases," said easyJet.
"Demand across the first half remained positive, with the airline delivering a load factor of 90%, up two percentage points year-on-year," its trading update continued, adding: "EasyJet holidays saw continued strong demand, with customer numbers increasing by 22% in the first half."
On the situation in the Middle East, easyJet said: "The conflict in the Middle East has introduced near-term uncertainty around fuel costs and customer demand. As expected, the booking curve has shortened in recent weeks, resulting in lower than normal forward visibility.
"EasyJet remains well positioned to manage this volatility, supported by its investment grade balance sheet. The group has net cash of £434 million, liquidity of £4.7 billion and owns 86% of its [Airbus] neo aircraft, providing both financial and operational flexibility."
While on fuel, it added: "EasyJet is 70% hedged at $706 per metric tonne for jet fuel over the summer period, although fuel prices remain volatile for the unhedged portion. In line with the wider industry, we remain in close contact with our fuel suppliers and airports around fuel supply."
