Thunderstorms have caused severe disruption at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, with hundreds of flights delayed or cancelled and passengers stuck on grounded planes in sweltering conditions. The storms hit overnight after record-breaking heat in the UK and Europe.
According to flight tracker FlightAware, at least 367 flights due to land or take off from Heathrow were delayed on Saturday, and 352 at Gatwick. Some delays lasted more than six hours, and dozens of flights were cancelled. One flight from Gatwick to Antalya, scheduled to land at 11:50am, was not due until 6pm.
Passengers expressed frustration on social media, with one reporting being stuck on a grounded British Airways plane at Heathrow from 7am until noon. Another said their daughter had been on an easyJet plane at Gatwick for four hours. At Venice airport, 29-year-old Adam Joseph told the BBC he was stranded without air conditioning after his Gatwick-bound flight was delayed by at least four hours. He said passengers were told they would not be entitled to compensation due to air traffic control restrictions.
UK air traffic control service Nats said disruption was expected to continue due to forecast severe weather across the south-east of England. British Airways apologised, saying it had to adjust schedules due to air traffic control restrictions caused by adverse weather. EasyJet said it pre-emptively cancelled some flights to and from Gatwick and was offering rebooking, refunds, and accommodation where needed.
Smaller airports including Leeds Bradford, Edinburgh, and London City also experienced delays or cancellations due to the weather.
