July 8, 2024, 1:16 PM
A busy arrivals hall in Terminal 2 as the airport comes under pressure from cancelled flights and staff shortages. (file photo).
Photo: Alamy
Thousands of holidaymakers were left stranded after London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports were hit by dozens of cancelled flights today.
According to reports, both EasyJet at London Gatwick and British Airways at Heathrow had to ground 32 short-haul flights each.
Bad weather conditions and air traffic control (ATC) problems are believed to be the cause of the cancellations and delays.
Domestic flights and travel to Italy, Hungary and Spain have been affected.
Although flights appeared to be running normally again this afternoon, many EasyJet flights scheduled to depart on Monday morning were delayed by several hours.
The airline said in a statement: “EasyJet operated around 1,800 flights yesterday, but unfortunately some flights across Europe were disrupted due to the impact of bad weather and air traffic control delays.
“We have done everything we can to minimise the impact on our customers whose flights have been affected. We are offering hotel accommodation and meals, as well as a refund or transfer to an alternative flight. We are also informing customers that they will be reimbursed for costs if they have to make their own arrangements.
“The safety and well-being of our customers is our highest priority and while this is beyond our control, we apologize for any inconvenience.”
Heathrow Airport experienced delays this morning, leaving passengers stranded. 
Photo: Alamy
EasyJet passengers are unlikely to receive compensation following today’s delays as the problems are due to extraordinary circumstances,” The Sun reports.
A message reportedly sent to travelers read: “We are sorry that your flight has been cancelled. This is due to air traffic control restrictions.
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“The disruption to your flight is beyond our control and is considered an extraordinary circumstance.”
Furious passengers have taken to social media to complain about today’s delays.
An X user wrote: “Thank you for cancelling my flight from Copenhagen today. Especially by sending an email at 2:30am.
“The only way back now is via Norway and costs £500 one way.”
A man and a woman wait for their flight in the departure lounge at Heathrow Airport (file photo). 
Photo: Alamy
A second person messaged easyJet: “I’m stuck at Gatwick Airport, I’ve been here for hours, the flight has been cancelled and I’ve been trying to deal with you guys for 3 hours.”
And a third said: “Would NOT recommend EasyJet. We are approaching the 48 hours we should have been home – opted for the train after 3rd cancelled flight.”
Ryanair has also apologised for the delays customers experienced this morning, saying the cancellations were due to ATC ‘staff shortages’.
A statement on the airline’s website said: “Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, apologised to its passengers on Monday 8 July for the excessive delays experienced today, Monday 8 July, due to the shortage of European ATC staff, which are affecting all European airlines.
“ATC services, which were not affected by a French ATC strike this summer, continue to underperform (despite flight volumes remaining 5% below 2019 levels) with repeated “staff shortages”.
“On Mon 8 Jul, 21% of Ryanair’s first departures (134 out of 579 aircraft) were delayed due to a lack of ATC staff. These repeated flight delays due to ATC mismanagement are unacceptable.
“We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays. These are very unfortunate but are beyond Ryanair’s control.”
This comes after British Airways was forced to ground two planes on Sunday after they were struck by lightning.