Flight chaos continues at London airports as hundreds of flights have been cancelled at both Heathrow and Gatwick after sweltering conditions led to major thunderstorms in the south of England.
Impact on Saturday
Heavy rain overnight meant two of the UK's busiest airports saw hundreds of delays and cancellations on Saturday, with more than 400 flights at Gatwick delayed and a further 600 stalled at Heathrow, according to Flightradar24. The flight tracker also showed that over 200 flights across both airports had been cancelled.
Sunday Disruption
Heading into Sunday, several flights face delays with a number already cancelled. At Gatwick, easyJet flights to Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Belfast and Nice have been cancelled today, according to Flightradar24. There are also several delays expected throughout the day. At Heathrow, British Airways flights to Toulouse, Rome, Amsterdam and Milan have been cancelled by the airline.
Air Traffic Control Measures
Aviation agency Eurocontrol said that Heathrow and Gatwick were the only two UK airports struggling with 'heavy' delays due to the thunderstorms. Temporary air traffic control restrictions were put in place at Gatwick on Saturday due to the weather conditions.
Airline Responses
Gatwick said: "Due to ongoing thunderstorms across the network last night, temporary air traffic restrictions were put in place, which resulted in some flights being delayed and cancelled this morning." EasyJet said it was doing its best to help passengers impacted by the delays and cancellations. A spokesperson said: "Due to thunderstorms in the south of the UK which is restricting the number of arrivals and departures today, like other airlines we are experiencing some disruption to our flying programme and have had to pre-emptively cancel some flights to and from Gatwick in advance. 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."
Weather Outlook
Despite the heatwave cooling down, the Met Office has warned that further thunderstorms are still possible. The Met Office forecast for Gatwick said that it will be "cloudy with showers" throughout the day with there being a chance of further disturbance.
