Hundreds of flights at Heathrow and Gatwick airports have been delayed or cancelled after thunderstorms swept across southern England, causing widespread disruption for travellers during an intense heatwave.
Heavy rain and lightning illuminated the skies over London overnight following several days of temperatures exceeding 30C, as Britain and much of Europe continue to experience exceptionally hot weather.
More than 600 flights scheduled to arrive or depart from Heathrow and Gatwick were disrupted, with some passengers facing delays of over six hours. Several services were also cancelled altogether.
One flight from Gatwick to Antalya, originally due to arrive in Turkey at 11:50am, was delayed until 6pm.
National Air Traffic Services (Nats) warned that disruption was likely to continue throughout the day due to “forecasted severe weather across the south-east of England”.
Passengers reported lengthy waits both in terminals and onboard grounded aircraft. One traveller said they had remained on a British Airways plane at Heathrow from 7am until midday, while another said their daughter had been sitting on an easyJet aircraft at Gatwick for four hours.
Flight tracking website FlightAware recorded at least 367 delayed flights at Heathrow and 352 delayed services at Gatwick on Saturday.
Travellers abroad also faced difficulties. Adam Joseph, 29, told the BBC he was stranded at Venice Airport after his Gatwick-bound flight was delayed by more than 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 the disruption was linked to air traffic control restrictions caused by adverse weather.
“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,” the airline said.
“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 also confirmed that it had cancelled a number of services in advance of the storms.
“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.
The severe weather also affected smaller airports, including Leeds Bradford and Edinburgh, while London City Airport reported delays and cancellations before services gradually returned to normal.
A spokesperson for London City Airport said: “Flights are gradually returning to normal following this morning’s weather-related air traffic restrictions. There have been some associated delays and cancellations.”