Travel chaos erupts across Britain as thousands of flights delayed or cancelled amid extreme weather

Thunderstorms across Britain following days of extreme heat have caused air travel chaos, with more than 1,000 flights either grounded or delayed this weekend.

Overnight air traffic restrictions forced airports to limit departures and arrivals, stranding thousands of holidaymakers at terminals across the country.

FlightRadar data revealed Gatwick bore the brunt with 391 delayed services and 31 cancellations, while Heathrow saw 383 flights held up and 98 scrapped entirely.

Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford and London City airports also experienced substantial disruption as aircraft were forced to navigate around severe weather.

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The chaos followed torrential downpours and lightning strikes after temperatures shattered June records on three consecutive days.

Travellers caught up in the disruption voiced frustration at the handling of the situation by airlines, such as Ruaidhri Morris, 24, who faced a seven-hour wait at Verona airport in Italy for his EasyJet flight to Gatwick.

"I've just been sat in the airport waiting," he told The Telegraph, "I did not hear anything from EasyJet until I complained on social media.

"They apologised and gave me a £12 food and drink voucher but that's it. It's not a great way to end the holiday."

At Pula Airport in Croatia, Jamie Burton, 47, described passengers sitting on floors due to lack of seating, with food vouchers from Tui rejected by the terminal's café.

NATS warned disruption would persist throughout Saturday as aircraft needed to steer clear of extreme weather zones.

Friday's temperature reading of 37.3C at Santon Downham in Suffolk marked the hottest June day ever recorded in Britain, breaking the benchmark set during the legendary 1976 summer.

The Met Office maintained an amber extreme heat warning covering London, the south east and East Anglia until Sunday morning.

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This followed several days of rare red warnings - the most severe category - indicating conditions posed a direct threat to life.

Forecasters predicted temperatures would begin dropping over the weekend, with cooler air reaching western England first, before gradually moving eastward.

In a statement, Gatwick Airport urged passengers to contact their airline to check the status of their flight following the thunder and lightning.

A spokesman said temporary air traffic restrictions led to flight cancellations and delays “due to thunderstorms”.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for London City Airport said: “Flights are gradually returning to normal following this morning’s weather-related air traffic restrictions. There have been some associated delays and cancellations.”

Edinburgh Airport has also been affected by the air space restrictions prompted by the thunderstorm, with four arrivals and 15 departures delayed.

A spokesman for British Airways said: “Like other airlines, we’ve had to make some adjustments to our schedule today due to Air Traffic Control restrictions caused by adverse weather conditions affecting parts of UK airspace.

“While the vast majority of our customers will be unaffected, we apologise for the inconvenience caused and our teams are working hard to help those impacted get their journeys back on track.”

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