EasyJet's story in Barcelona began a few months after the low-cost airline was founded at London Luton Airport 30 years ago. El Prat Airport eventually became one of its most important airports, and it currently operates four aircraft and employs more than 200 people there. Furthermore, it has just launched a new service in the city. a digital center which will serve the entire British company. This marks the anniversary of having transported more than 55 million passengers, primarily tourists from its native United Kingdom, but also from Switzerland, Italy, and Portugal. Javier Gándara has been EasyJet's Managing Director for Southern Europe since 2020, and also chairs the Airline Association (ALA), the main employers' association for the sector in Spain.

EasyJet has launched an advertising campaign to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the airline's first Barcelona-London flight. To attract tourists, in addition to a discount on flight prices, three main reasons to visit the city are listed: its light, Gaudí's buildings, and, as expected, the gastronomy. But in this case, the company hasn't chosen bread with tomato or a frying pan, but rather a sandwich that earned its name in Barcelona: the bikini.

EasyJet is investing in Barcelona, ​​one of its bases in Spain. The low-cost airline will open a digital center in the Catalan capital, which will be used to develop new products and improve internal processes. "It will be key to accelerating our digital transformation and continuing to improve our passengers' experience," explained Javier Gándara, EasyJet's Managing Director for Southern Europe. Located in the 22@ district, it will be the first hub EasyJet will have a new digital center serving the entire company, with a presence in 160 airports worldwide. The center will centralize its digital operations and replace the innovation and information technology department currently located at its headquarters in London Luton Airport (UK). The center will launch next year, and recruitment will begin this week. EasyJet plans to hire around 30 professionals specializing in software, artificial intelligence, and user experience. The availability of digital professionals in Barcelona was one of the airline's main reasons for choosing to locate the center there. hub in the city. "The decision to locate our first in Barcelona hub "The digital presence in Europe is a clear example of EasyJet's commitment to Spain and the enormous talent that exists in the country," said Gándara, who is also president of the Airline Association (ALA). opened An AI development center at Vueling's headquarters in Viladecans.

The reactivation of tourism, after two years in which its workers have suffered the consequences of the pandemic, returns with labour conflicts. First it was the cabin crew of Ryanair's Spanish bases and now it is British airline Easyjet's staff who have called nine days of strike in July to protest against the deadlock in the negotiation of their working conditions. The company's 450 employees at the airports of El Prat, Malaga and Palma are called to a 24-hour strike on 1, 2, 3, 15, 16, 17, 29, 30 and 31 July, coinciding with the first, third and last weekend of the month. The strike call has been presented and announced this Tuesday by the USO union, one of the two organisations behind the mobilisations at Ryanair.