EasyJet high-flyers land early Christmas gift

Christmas came early for top bosses at easyJet today as they were granted share options worth almost £6 million under the group’s long-term incentive plan.

The nil-cost awards for nine senior managers including chief executive Carolyn McCall will vest after three years. McCall is the biggest potential winner with 169,127 share options worth around £1.7 million at today’s share price.

The awards come at the end of a turbulent year for the airline, which has seen its shares slump more than 40% as terror attacks hit trading.

The vote to leave the EU on June 23 also hammered the share price.

McCall — who was linked with the Marks & Spencer top job earlier this year — earned £1.5 million in the year to September as the airline’s profits suffered.

This was down from the £6.2 million she earned the previous year after picking up almost £4.6 million in shares from an earlier incentive scheme.

Shares eased 4p today to 1024p.