Easyjet’s departing boss hailed booming demand for international travel as the budget airline’s profits beat pre-Covid levels.

Johan Lundgren, who will step down in January after seven years as chief executive, said “the future for the company is bright”.

But his successor, Kenton Jarvis, labelled UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to hike air passenger duty in the Budget as a ‘tax on the working person’ that will make flights more expensive.

Easyjet profits soared 34pc from £455m to £610m in the year to the end of September, hitting the second-highest level in the airline’s 29-year history.

The firm said it was on track to hit its target of £1bn profit in the next few years as it hailed its strongest ever second half amid bumper demand for summer holidays.

Lundgren, 58, said: “This strong performance reflects the effectiveness and execution of our strategy as well as continued popularity of our flights and holidays.”

He added: “It has been a privilege to lead easyJet for the past seven years.”

Finance director Jarvis, 56, who will take over in the new year, warned that Easyjet could cut flights from the UK and hike prices for customers due to an increased tax on airlines.

“At the end of the day it’s a tax on the working person,’ he said. ‘[Labour] tried to dress it up as if it wasn’t, but that’s just all it is.”

Photo: Johan Lundgren, chief executive officer of easyJet Plc. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images