<span>STORY: EasyJet warned on Thursday (April 16) that it was feeling the impact of the Iran war.</span><span>The budget airline said this would lead to greater losses and that additional bookings were down from last year.</span><span>The company now forecasts first-half pre-tax losses of between $733 million and $761 million; This is much higher than a year ago.</span><span>EasyJet said summer bookings were below last year’s levels, with 63% sales in the third quarter compared to 65% last year.</span><span>The market will be looking for any signs of the conflict’s impact on European airlines’ fragile profit margins and revenues.</span><span>Especially as carriers in the region begin reporting first-quarter results in the coming weeks.</span><span>EasyJet rival Wizz Air has already said its annual net profit will fall to around $59 million.</span><span>The conflict caused jet fuel prices to rise.</span><span>This has forced airlines to raise fares, cut growth plans and rethink forecasts.</span><span>EasyJet said the Iran war was causing short-term uncertainty about fuel costs and customer demand.</span><span>The update sent easyJet’s shares down as much as 9%, dragging other budget airlines along with it.</span><span>However, it recovered slightly in subsequent transactions.</span>
