Easyjet cancelled a further 80 flights on Sunday as travel disruption continued across the UK.
It comes after a disastrous week for the travel industry during which more than 350 flights were axed while customers complained of long delays in departure halls.
The budget airline apologised to customers for the disruption and said the flights were axed “due to the ongoing challenging operating environment”.
"We are very sorry and fully understand the disruption this will have caused for our customers," the airline said, according to the BBC.
"We are doing all possible to fly them as soon as possible to their destination."
It said it had extended its customer service opening hours from 7am to to 11pm, and was helping those affected find hotel accommodation.
It comes after the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said customers should automatically get reimbursed if their flight is cancelled.
Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme, Mr Shapps said “further changes were coming down the line” from Government to assist the aviation sector to deal with backlogs, with a working group set up to ensure a smoother process during the summer holidays.
He added: “It doesn’t really help to sit here and blame one side or the other.
“Having accepted it is a private sector industry, we’ll of course do absolutely everything possible to make sure that we are helping people get away this summer.
“To make sure that, where that doesn’t happen, there is proper disputes resolution, proper charter for passengers, to make sure it means they can get quick, straightforward compensation for it or be put on other flights.
“Because it can’t be acceptable that it is so complicated sometimes to get a flight rearranged or to get your money back.
“I want it to be more like Delay Repay works on trains, where it is an automated process.”
Many people were taking their first holiday since the pandemic, and nearly 11,000 flights - with the capacity for 1.9million passengers - were expected to land over the extended Bank Holiday weekend.
But the surge in demand coincided with staff shortages after the travel industry made tens of thousands of workers redundant during the Covid lockdowns.
They have been unable to re-hire quickly enough to cope and are offering generous financial incentives to recruit and retain staff.
