A LOW-COST airline is expecting profits to tumble only 24 hours after revealing it could increase its flights at a North-East airport.

EasyJet revealed it is forecasting profits to fall by almost £200m due to the post-Brexit environment, international terror attacks and air traffic control strikes in France.

The airline said the falling value of the pound since the Brexit vote – hitting a 31 year low against the dollar this week – would cost the company around £90m.

However bosses at EasyJet, who revealed earlier this week they was considering expanding the carrier’s European flights at Newcastle Airport, insisted the company had “performed strongly in a difficult operating environment for all European airlines.”

The group said it was expecting profits for the year to September 30 to fall by nearly a third, to between £490 million and £495 million.

Such a figure would be down 28 per cent on the £686m annual profit EasyJet made in 2015, and it would also be the company’s first fall in annual profits since 2009.

Carolyn McCall, chief executive of EasyJet, said: "We have been disproportionately affected by extraordinary events this year.

“The current environment is tough for all airlines, but history shows that at times like this the strongest airlines become stronger. That is why we will continue to invest for the long-term success of the business" she added.

Earlier this week, EasyJet said its new Berlin services at Newcastle Airport could result in further routes to other European destinations, including Paris and Venice.

The carrier’s German flights start next month after bosses said they had seen a “resurgence in performance” at Newcastle.

EasyJet’s all-year round German flights will be joined next month by winter services to Las Palmas, in Gran Canaria, and bosses told The Northern Echo the business expects the combined trips to carry more than 36,000 passengers in their first year.

The airliner has slashed fares by around 9 per cent year-on-year to boost demand as it has also battled a price war with other low cost airliners, including Ryanair.

The move resulted in a record number of passengers flying with the group over the three months to the end of September, at 22 million.

Shares in EasyJet dropped by as much as 9 per cent following the announcement.