EasyJet has cut its winter losses by more than £50m and said it is confident of a record summer, despite higher fuel costs and a £40m loss from the war in the Middle East.

The low budget airline predicted pre-tax losses of between £340m and £360m for the six months to the end of March - an improvement from £411million in 2022/23.

It reported £31million of profit before tax and 42% customer growth year-on-year and said first-half profits were boosted by an early Easter, falling in March this year, with total revenue up 22% to £3.27billion. 

This helped offset a £140m rise in its fuel bill compared with 2023.

The positive news comes on the back of a "ground-breaking" hydrogen refuelling trial  spearheaded by Easyjet at Bristol Airport.

Completed last week, it saw the new system used to power ground support equipment: ensuring that the emissions from baggage tractors, which service easyJet passenger aircraft were emissions-free.

Easyjet flies to more than 50 destinations from Bristol Airport and said overall summer bookings have continued to "build well" with 70% sold.

It said demand for flights had rebounded after a six-week "softening" in searches and bookings from the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October.

The carrier axed flights to Israel and Jordan following the Hamas terror attack on October 7.

In a trading update released on April 18 it said that £40million had been lost from refunds and lost revenue due to cancelled flights to Israel and Jordan.

EasyJet has now extended until October the suspension of Tel Aviv flights announced this week after Iran's drone attack. The airline said it expected little direct financial impact from its decision in the coming months.

Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, said:"The importance that consumers place on travel coupled with easyJet's trusted brand has driven good demand for our flights and holidays. Our growth and focus on productivity have reduced winter losses by more than £50 million.

"We have further enhanced our network with the launch of new bases in Alicante and Birmingham providing greater choice for consumers across Europe.

"We are well set up operationally for this summer season where we expect easyJet to be one of the fastest growing major airlines in Europe and take more customers on easyJet holidays than ever before."