Description
EasyJet plc, styled as easyJet, is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on over 1,000 routes in more than 30 countries via its affiliate airlines EasyJet UK, EasyJet Switzerland, and EasyJet Europe. EasyJet plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. easyGroup Holdings Ltd (the investment vehicle of the airline's founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his family) is the largest shareholder with a 29.998% stake (as of June 2020). It employs nearly 15,000 people, based throughout Europe but mainly in the UK.
EasyJet has seen expansion since its establishment in 1995, having grown through a combination of acquisitions, and base openings fuelled by consumer demand for low-cost air travel. The group, along with associate companies EasyJet UK, EasyJet Europe and EasyJet Switzerland, operate more than 300 aircraft. It has 29 bases across Europe, the largest being Gatwick. In 2014, the airline carried more than 65 million passengers, making it the second-largest budget airline in Europe by number of passengers carried, behind Ryanair.
EasyJet was featured in the television series Airline broadcast on ITV which followed the airline's operations at London Luton and later at other bases. Its pilot training scheme was the subject of another ITV television series, easyJet: Inside the Cockpit, which premiered in August 2017.
On 30 March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, EasyJet grounded its entire fleet of planes. They later closed three of their bases.
