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  "path": "/2026/06/28/heathrow-gatwick-flight-cancellations-leave-40-000-stranded-28956383/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-28T09:50:55.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "News",
    "UK",
    "British Airways",
    "easyJet",
    "Flights",
    "Gatwick Airport",
    "Heathrow Airport",
    "Heatwave",
    "Travel News",
    "UK weather",
    "Weather",
    "Severe thunderstorms",
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    "Gatwick",
    "BA",
    "News Updates",
    "Breaking News",
    "Travel",
    "reports",
    "summer",
    "Italy",
    "France",
    "Germany",
    "UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source"
  ],
  "textContent": "The heatwave has turned into stormy weather, causing chaos at London airports (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)\n\n**Severe thunderstorms have caused chaos at Britain’s busiest airports, delaying more than 900 flights and forcing dozens of cancellations.**\n\nMore than 474 flights at London Heathrow and 439 at Gatwick were delayed, with some disruptions lasting for up to 11 hours, according to flight tracking data.\n\nOne British Airways service from Santiago, Chile, scheduled to arrive at Heathrow at 10am on Saturday (BST), was not expected to land until 9pm.\n\nMore than 200 flights on BA have already been cancelled to and from Heathrow, and on easyJet to and from Gatwick.\n\nHeathrow’s online departure board showed several flights to European destinations cancelled on Sunday morning, including British Airways planes to Milan, Rome and Florence.\n\n##  Sign up for all of the latest stories\n\nStart your day informed with Metro's **News Updates** newsletter or get **Breaking News** alerts the moment it happens.\n\nTravel expert Simon Calder reports that in total, some 40,000 passengers have had flights cancelled this weekend.\n\nLast night’s thunderstorms have affected today’s flights (Picture: Andy Holcroft /The Bug Farm/Wales News Service)\n\nPassengers have been advised to monitor flight status online before leaving for the airport.\n\nIn the holiday resort of Dalaman, Turkey, a British man said his easyJet flight was cancelled as he made his way to the airport at 10pm on Saturday.\n\nOver 11 hours later, he said he had ‘absolutely no communication’ from the airline about a rescheduled flight.\n\nAnother passenger berated British Airways on X: ‘[Heathrow] Terminal 5 customer service must have 150 people waiting after delayed flights and missed connections!! 3 staff trying to sort this out, it’s sweltering and no air con or water to be had… Shocking to be honest!’\n\n##  Have you been affected?\n\nGet in touch alice.murphy.met@metro.co.uk or webnews@metro.co.uk\n\nAnother 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.’\n\nThe disruption highlights how rapidly extreme weather can affect airline operations – and upend travel plans – during the summer season.\n\nIt came as thunderstorms swept across the UK in the early hours of Saturday morning.\n\nLightning strikes were seen across London, where they are suspected of starting a house fire.\n\nAnd the chaos was not confined to the UK.\n\nSome of the delayed flights at Heathrow (Picture: Heathrow Airport)\n\nWhen one of Europe’s busiest aviation hubs runs into difficulty, the ripples quickly spread across multiple countries.\n\nFlights departing from Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Greece for London often had to wait for revised departure slots before take-off.\n\nEuropean air traffic manager Eurocontrol identified the airspace between southeast England and northwest Europe as the worst affected, with further thunderstorm development possible across a broad swathe of Europe extending from northern Spain to southern Sweden.\n\n## Why planes can’t just fly through thunderstorms\n\nCommercial aircraft are designed to operate safely in a wide range of weather conditions, but thunderstorms remain a major operational hazard.\n\nPilots routinely avoid intense storm cells because they may contain severe turbulence (which raises safety concerns for both passengers and crew) and wind shear, which makes taking off and landing riskier.\n\nStorms also bring heavy rain, which reduces pilot visibility, hail, which can damage the aircraft, and powerful updrafts and downdrafts, which can make the plane more difficult to handle.\n\nTo avoid these risks, planes are rerouted by air traffic control.\n\nThis leads to longer flight paths and delays for later flights waiting on the arrival of the aircraft.\n\n##  What to do if your flight is cancelled?\n\nAccording to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), if your flight is cancelled, airlines must provide passengers with assistance under UK law.\n\nThis includes a reasonable amount of food and drink (usually provided as a voucher), a means of communication, accommodation if you are rerouted the next day, and transport to and from the accommodation.\n\nThe CAA says: ‘The airline must provide you with these items until it is able to fly you to your destination, no matter how long the delay lasts or what has caused it.\n\n‘Sometimes airlines are unable to arrange care and assistance for all passengers. This can happen when staff are stretched during major disruptions.\n\n‘If this happens, in our view, you have the right to organise reasonable care and assistance yourself, then claim the cost back later. If you end up paying for things yourself, keep every receipt and do not spend more than is reasonable. Airlines are unlikely to refund you for things like luxury hotels or alcohol. Some will provide guidance on reasonable costs.’\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Heathrow and Gatwick flight cancellations leave ‘40,000 stranded’ after thunderstorms"
}