UK holiday chaos as easyJet and British Airways cancellations leave thousands of Britons stranded at airports

More than 60 easyJet flights have been cancelled at the UK’s two busiest airports, with passengers left stranded without information or a plan to get to where they need to be.

easyJet has apologised to its customers((AFP via Getty Images)

Dozens of flight cancellations have left thousands of holidaymakers stranded at Heathrow and Gatwick as air traffic control (ATC) delays and bad weather wreak havoc on airlines.

The country’s two busiest airports have seen British Airways and easyJet suspend flights to Heathrow Airport, with the latter reducing flights to and from Lanzarote, Budapest and Venice, as well as two return flights to Belfast International and Edinburgh.

One passenger, Tom McCarthy, wrote on X: “To make us sit on a plane for 3 hours and then cancel the flight and give us no alternative is an absolute disgrace! Family holiday cancelled, now I’m no doubt going to have to fight tooth and nail for my refund and compensation!”

Hundreds of other flights were delayed across Europe, with flights at Heathrow severely disrupted. British Airways cancelled two return flights to Rome as well as flights to Naples, Barcelona and Larnaca in Cyprus.

At least 10,000 easyJet and British Airways passengers will be affected by the travel chaos as the airlines apologise to their passengers.

easyJet has said it will not yet offer compensation to passengers. The message to passengers whose flights were cancelled reads: “We are sorry that your flight has been cancelled. This is due to air traffic control restrictions. The disruption to your flight is beyond our control and is considered an extraordinary circumstance.”

Airlines can avoid paying hundreds of pounds in compensation if they can prove that the cause of cancellations or long delays was beyond their control. Under European air passenger rights rules, carriers must provide hotels, meals and alternative flights as soon as possible. The Mirror has contacted British Airways and easyJet for comment on the cancellations.

However, at Manchester and London Stansted, the UK’s second and third largest airports, only one flight was cancelled, an easyJet flight to London. Copenhagen and an A-Jet departure to Ankara. Meanwhile, Ryanair, Europe’s largest budget airline, has made no cancellations in the UK and condemned what it called “unacceptable” delays due to “repeated shortages of air traffic control staff across Europe”.