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Thunderstorms Delay Over 900 Flights at Heathrow and Gatwick
More than 900 flights were delayed at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports due to thunderstorms south of the UK. Air traffic restrictions affected routes across south-east England, with some delays reaching six hours. Airlines cancelled select services and provided passenger support options.
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More than 900 flights were delayed at Heathrow and Gatwick airports because of thunderstorms. FlightAware data recorded 340 affected departures at Heathrow and 320 at Gatwick on Saturday, with some routes experiencing delays of up to six hours. The UK's air traffic control service NATS said severe weather across south-east England would keep disruptions in place through the rest of the day.
Eurocontrol reported that Heathrow and Gatwick were the only UK airports facing heavy delays tied to the storm, with the tightest restrictions covering airspace between south-east England and north-western Europe. Gatwick said temporary air traffic control restrictions had been imposed after thunderstorms crossed the network the previous night.
Easyjet cancelled some flights to and from Gatwick in advance and offered passengers rebooking, refunds, hotel accommodation and meals where needed.
Passenger Cameron Ashwin remained on a British Airways plane at Gatwick from just after 06:00 and was not scheduled to depart until midday. Another passenger said her daughter had been held on an Easyjet aircraft at the same airport for four hours before that flight was cancelled. An Easyjet service to Antalya was pushed from 11:50 BST to 18:00.
Parts of eastern and south-eastern England stayed very hot under an amber extreme-heat warning that runs until 09:00 BST on Sunday.
