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Severe thunderstorms caused low-cost carrier, EasyJet to cancel over 100 flights. An estimated 15,000 passengers traveling through London Gatwick Airport (LGW) on Sunday and Monday saw their travel plans cancelled as the airline dealt with the poor weather conditions.
Summer travel is in full swing and the flight disruptions impacted many popular holiday destinations including the Canary Islands, Greece, and Turkey. With so many delays and cancellations, both aircraft and crew needed to be shuffled for subsequent flights.
A spokesperson for EasyJet released the following statement:
We are doing all possible to minimize the impact on our customers, providing those on canceled flights with options to rebook or receive a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals where required. The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is EasyJet’s highest priority, and while this is outside of our control, we would like to apologize to customers for the inconvenience caused.”
This is the first major bout of cancellations, but at least this time it was weather related. Upcoming strikes at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) as well as urgent track repairs taking the fast train on the Gatwick Express out of service look to further complicate travel in the London area.
Passengers are not entitled to EU261 compensation for weather-related cancellations.
Anthony’s Take: Always have a backup plan. Weather cannot be accounted for in many cases, but be prepared with alternative arrangements and know what to request. It’s trickier with low-cost carriers, but major airlines have interline agreements and many times they can move you to another airline if a flight gets cancelled (especially if this is due to mechanical or other issues controlled by the airline).
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