Thousands stranded after flight cancellations and delays at Gatwick and Heathrow airports

More than 10,000 holidaymakers have been affected by flight cancellations and delays to and from London Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

British Airways has cancelled 51 flights scheduled to arrive or leave Heathrow on Sunday, and another 31 on Monday.

Several airlines have also cancelled flights to Gatwick. The worst hit was easyJet, with 34 flights grounded on Sunday and at least nine on Monday.

Affected passengers are unlikely to be able to claim compensation as the disruption is considered to be beyond the airlines’ control.

But they are entitled to assistance, which may include refreshments, overnight accommodation and rebooking with alternative carriers.

Flights to and from Lanzarote, Budapest and Venice have been cancelled, the Independent reported.

At Heathrow, British Airways cancelled two return flights to Rome as well as services to Naples, Barcelona and Larnaca in Cyprus.

EasyJet said the cancellations took place overnight due to poor weather conditions and air traffic control (ATC) disruptions.

Three EasyJet flights were impacted on Monday by the domino effects of Sunday’s weather and air traffic control restrictions, the Standard has learned.

Flights nevertheless appeared to depart and arrive on time at both airports on Monday.

The airline said in a statement: “EasyJet operated around 1,800 flights yesterday, but some flights across Europe were unfortunately disrupted due to the impact of adverse weather conditions and air traffic control delays.

“We have done everything we can to minimise the impact on our customers whose flights have been affected, by providing them with hotel accommodation and meals as well as a refund or transfer to an alternative flight and we advise our customers that they will be reimbursed for their expenses if they have to make their own arrangements.

“The safety and well-being of our customers is our top priority and while this is beyond our control, we apologize for the inconvenience.”

British Airways told the Standard: “Due to air traffic control restrictions and adverse weather conditions, like other airlines we have had to make some changes to our schedule.

“We know this will be frustrating for our customers and our teams are working hard to offer them alternative flights as soon as possible, with the vast majority already booked on flights that will fly later today.”

Two BA planes struck by lightning on SundayIt is understood, and these jets have been withdrawn from service for safety checks.

Several stranded passengers expressed their frustration on X, formerly Twitter.

One said: “EasyJet is the worst service ever!!! They cancelled my flight, won’t book me another hotel lol, then say they can’t book me another hotel because the ones they use are full.”

Another said: “I would NOT recommend EasyJet. We were supposed to be home for almost 48 hours. We opted for the train after the third flight was cancelled.”

A third wrote: “I was flying to London this morning to see family and EasyJet cancelled my flight at 5.30am. Alternative flights were either overpriced (on purpose) or unsuitable. I will never fly with these adventurers again.”

Ryanair apologised on Monday for “excessive flight delays” caused by “staff shortages” at European air traffic control.

The airline said in a statement on its website: “ATC services, which benefited from the absence of disruption from the French air traffic controllers’ strike this summer, continue to underperform (despite flight volumes being 5% below 2019 levels) with repeated staff shortages.

“On Monday 8 July, 21% of Ryanair’s first wave departures (134 out of 579 aircraft) were delayed due to a lack of ATC staff. These repeated flight delays due to ATC mismanagement are unacceptable.

“We apologise to our passengers for these repeated delays due to air traffic control, which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control.”

The announcement comes as Unite union announced that strikes by Gatwick baggage security staff have been postponed following an “improved pay offer”.

The workers, who are employed by ICTS, “have agreed to cancel all industrial action” scheduled for July 12-14 and July 19-21 while they vote on the offer, the union said.

Dominic Rothwell, Unite regional officer, said: “As a show of good faith, ICTS workers at Gatwick have postponed their strike action while they go through the vote on the new offer.

“The Wilson James strikes can also be avoided, but only if the company offers a better deal.”