Airlines are warning of further disruption today as severe weather across the UK and Europe has forced air traffic control to restrict the number of flights.
Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton airports were all forced to cancel some flights last night and some passengers at Gatwick claim they were trapped at the airport as police and staff told them thunderstorms had made it unsafe for them to leave.
British Airways said the disruption would continue this morning and urged passengers to check their flight details before heading to the airport.
In a statement on its website, the airline said: "All airlines operating in and out of London have been affected by severe weather which moved into the London area overnight from the continent.
"Weather conditions in the UK are causing disruption to our flights throughout today.
"We are very sorry for the inconvenience to our customers and are doing everything we can to provide them with the latest information and get them on their way as soon as possible.’‹
"Please keep checking the very latest information about your flight before travelling to the airport."
Ryanair said it had been forced to cancel a ‘small number’ of flights at Stansted today due to the thunderstorms. EasyJet warned passengers that a national air transport strike in Italy would cause further problems today.
"Like other airlines flying to and from Italy, easyJet expects an impact on its operations," it said, adding that passengers should check if their flights to Italy were still going ahead, while those flying back from Italy should allow for extra time at the airport.
"Although this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience experienced and wish to assure them that we are doing everything possible to minimise any disruption as a result of this industrial action," it added.
