Thunderstorms have caused severe delays to hundreds of flights at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, leaving passengers stuck on grounded planes for hours in the scorching heat.
Overnight, downpours and thunderstorms lit up the skies of London after back-to-back days of 30C-plus weather as the UK and much of Europe experienced a record-breaking heatwave.
The stormy weather delayed more than 600 flights due to land or depart from Heathrow and Gatwick, some for more than six hours, while dozens more have been cancelled. One flight from Gatwick to Antalya scheduled to land in Turkey at 11:50am is now due in at 6pm.
The UK’s air traffic control service, Nats, said disruption was “expected to continue through the rest of the day” due to “forecasted severe weather across the south-east of England”.
Some travellers expressed their frustration on social media. One said they had been stuck on a grounded British Airways plane at Heathrow from 7am until noon. Another person said their daughter has been sat on an easyJet plane at Gatwick for four hours.
According to flight tracker FlightAware, at least 367 flights due to land or take off from Heathrow were delayed on Saturday and 352 in and out of Gatwick.
Some travellers have been stuck abroad in the sweltering heat. Twenty-nine-year-old Adam Joseph told BBC News that he had been stranded at Venice airport without air conditioning after his Gatwick-bound flight was delayed for at least four hours.
“We could’ve stayed at the hotel for another three to four hours,” Joseph said. “We are also being told that even in the event of a four-hour-plus delay, because of an air traffic control restriction, we will not be entitled to compensation.”
He added: “I’ve had to give up my chair to a family with a pregnant mother.
“People are very angry … we have had no communication from [British Airways] whatsoever.”
British Airways said in a statement: “Like other airlines, we’ve had to make some adjustments to our schedule today due to air traffic control restrictions caused by adverse weather conditions affecting parts of UK airspace.
“While the vast majority of our customers will be unaffected, we apologise for the inconvenience caused and our teams are working hard to help those impacted get their journeys back on track.”
EasyJet said it had to “pre-emptively cancel some flights to and from Gatwick in advance” over the thunderstorms.
“We are doing all possible to minimise the impact of the weather disruption for our customers and are notifying passengers in advance with their options to rebook or receive a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals where required,” a spokesperson said.
Delays have also hit smaller airports including Leeds Bradford and Edinburgh, with three departures delayed at the former and four arrivals and 15 departures delayed at the latter on Saturday due to the weather.
London City also experienced disruption, with a spokesperson for the airport saying: “Flights are gradually returning to normal following this morning’s weather-related air traffic restrictions. There have been some associated delays and cancellations.”
