Closure of the EasyJet base, stopping of the Air France shuttle… Toulouse airport is struggling to regain its pre-Covid traffic

After the closure announced in October 2023 of the Air France shuttle between Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) and Paris by 2026, the turbulence continues for Toulouse Blagnac airport following the announcement by EasyJet that it would close its base in the Ville Rose in March 2025. A new blow for the airport platform, which has never regained its pre-Covid health and is announcing a passenger volume of 83% of 2019 traffic for the second quarter of 2024.

When announcing the closure of the Toulouse base on September 10, EasyJet management indicated in a press release that “the proposed closure of the Toulouse base is due to a combination of factors, including a slower post-Covid recovery and inflationary pressure that is affecting easyJet’s ability to invest further in France.” The two aircraft based in the Ville Rose, serving 20 destinations, will be redeployed to Nantes and Lyon. A strategy of the low-cost airline denounced by the Union of Civil Aviation Navigators (UNAC easyJet) union, which filed a notice of an unlimited national strike starting September 16. No action has taken place yet, but a first meeting of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) was held on September 17 to discuss the redeployment of the 125 employees of the Toulouse base.

9% drop in national traffic in Toulouse

“We contest the management’s economic argument because our base was doing well and the company paid dividends to shareholders in 2023, we do not understand why Toulouse, a city of aeronautics, with significant demographic growth is targeted, explains Laure Maurel, UNAC EasyJet union delegate in Toulouse. We received congratulations for our performance, it is true that we had not resumed a pre-Covid activity but that did not jeopardize the company.”

Contacted, Toulouse Blagnac airport did not wish to respond. The airport platform announced for the second quarter of 2024 “a slight increase in traffic of 1% compared to 2023”, notably thanks to international destinations. For domestic flights, traffic is down 9%.