Johan Lundgren told AFP that easyJet has written to the French transport minister and aviation regulator to ask them to increase the “minimum level of service” imposed during strikes.

“The more reputation an industry or a country gets for strikes and not being reliable, that will have a dampening effect on demand, people will just go somewhere else,” Lundgren added.

“Why should I go to France if I think I can be exposed to a strike?”

France was the most visited tourist destination in the world between 2014 and 2019 – a period that included the ‘yellow vest’ protests and another set of pension strikes. Figures for post-pandemic tourism suggest that it is set to remain on top. 

Some 30 percent of European flights were affected between March 9th and April 9th, most notably by work stoppages by French air traffic controllers opposing pension reform.

“I think it’s quite unacceptable the consequences that this now has. Ten million people have been affected by this,” Lundgren said.

Across Europe, passengers faced huge lines, misplaced luggage and flight delays last year due to staff shortages, most notably at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, a major European hub.

“I think across a number of airports who suffered immensely last year – with some exceptions, Schiphol as an example – have gotten themselves in a much more resilient position than they were in,” Lundgren said.

In a generally upbeat interview, the budget airline’s Swedish CEO said that he was ‘confident’ about travel this summer, adding that profits have also bounced back.

“Given the rate of the bookings and intake we have, we feel confident enough that we could say that we expect to beat the profit expectations that the market currently has,” Lundgren told AFP.

“While there definitely is a cost-of-living crisis across Europe and in many parts of the world, travel and flying has been the thing that people now even more prioritise coming out of the pandemic,” he said.

While fuel prices have gone up 71 percent, Lundgren said the UK-based airline’s average fare has increased by 31 percent, or €14, “so it still is within reach for many customers.”

EasyJet lifted its annual profit forecast for the second time this year on Tuesday, saying it will beat expectations of £260 million (€295m) for its financial year to September.