Hundreds of flights at Heathrow and Gatwick airports have been delayed and dozens more cancelled due to thunderstorms, with disruption continuing into Sunday.
More than 900 inbound and outbound flights were delayed at the capital’s two biggest airports on Saturday, while many other flights axed due to the stormy weather.
At least 474 flights arriving at or departing from Heathrow were hit with delays, according to tracker FlightAware, as well as 439 in and out of Gatwick.
UK air traffic control service said delays were expected to continue into Sunday.
Heathrow’s online departure board showed several flights to European destinations cancelled on Sunday morning, including British Airways planes to Milan, Rome and Florence.
Both airports had significant numbers of arrivals delayed, and some had been cancelled.
Gatwick and Heathrow advised passengers to check the status of their flights with airlines before travelling.
The delays have brought misery to passengers. One person berated British Airways on X: “Terminal 5 customer service service must have 150 people waiting after delayed flights and missed connections!! 3 staff trying to sort this out, its sweltering and no air con or water to be had... Shocking to be honest!”
Another man on a cancelled flight from Gatwick to Rhodes added: “Five hours held on a plane with one refreshment offered. No clear answers, is it cancelled, do I have a flight on Monday? I need answers as the treatment has been DISGUSTING.”
It comes as thunderstorms swept across the UK in the early hours of Saturday morning. Lightning strikes were seen across London and are suspected of starting a house fire.
The storms swept across the Channel to northwestern Europe.
Europe-wide aviation agency Eurocontrol said the most severe air traffic control delays were in airspace between south-east England and northwestern Europe, saying that flights travelling on flight paths outside of the storm area were still operating as scheduled.
One affected passenger Adam Joseph, 29, told BBC News that he had been stranded at Venice airport in Italy without air conditioning because his flight to Gatwick had been delayed by over four hours .He was due to depart Venice at 12.30pm local time but said the plane had not yet left London on its outbound leg.
Others have taken to social media to seek advice and vent their frustration.
One person asked Easyjet on X: “My daughter has been sat on a plane at Gatwick for 4 hours and now you’ve cancelled the flight. She’s on an easyJet holiday. What should she do?”
Another user wrote: “We've been on board EZ8811 at Gatwick for 4.5 hours. The captain has announced the aircraft is ready to depart but we're waiting for a tug crew to push back. We're desperate to get to Montenegro for our holiday. Can someone from operations please assist?"
NATS, the UK's air traffic control service, said in an updated statement on Saturday afternoon: "Severe thunderstorms across the south east of England and Europe continue to impact flights, and this is expected to continue for the remainder of today and overnight.
"To ensure the safety of the travelling public, aircraft need to avoid affected areas and be spaced further apart, which limits the number of flights that can operate safely.
"We understand disruption is frustrating, but we're working closely with airlines and airports to reduce disruption as much as possible.
"Passengers should continue to contact their airline for the latest information on their flight."
A spokesman for Gatwick airport said on Saturday: "Due to ongoing thunderstorms across the network last night, temporary air traffic restrictions were put in place, which resulted in some flights being delayed and cancelled."
A Heathrow airport representative added: "Adverse weather conditions and thunderstorms across the UK and Europe has led to temporary air traffic restrictions, which means some flights at Heathrow were impacted”.
