EasyJet to cancel 200 flights as half term travel chaos continues

28 May 2022, 09:39 | Updated: 28 May 2022, 12:21

EasyJet is to cancel more than 200 flights over the next 10 days as transport disruption hampers the outset of the half-term break.

The airline said the cancellations would affect about 24 flights per day from London's Gatwick airport between May 28 and June 6.

It added the cancellations were "necessary to provide reliable services over this busy period".

Tui has also cancelled a "small number" of flights in response to delays, in a further blow to half term holidays.

The travel company said "various operational and supply chain issues" are to blame for the flight cancellations.

It has cancelled three flights from Birmingham, two flights from Gatwick and one from Manchester.

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It comes after a software failure forced EasyJet to cancel around 200 flights on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the company said in a statement: "We have taken the decision to make advance cancellations of around 24 Gatwick flights per day starting from tomorrow 28 May until 6 June.

"We are very sorry for the late notice of some of these cancellations and inconvenience caused for customers booked on these flights, however we believe this is necessary to provide reliable services over this busy period.

"Customers are being informed from today (Friday) and provided with the option to rebook their flight or receive a refund and can apply for compensation in line with regulations."

"Over the next week we will be operating around 1700 flights per day, with around a quarter of these operating to and from Gatwick."

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Holidaymakers complained of a "shambolic" service on Friday night, with a shortage of staff on check-in desks and two-hour long queues.

Passengers said the queues and last-minute cancellations amounted to a "national embarrassment"

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Elsewhere, Liverpool FC supporters travelling to the Champions League final and families embarking on half-term getaways faced long queues at the Port of Dover and UK airports.

Thousands of fans descended on the Kent port on Friday to board cross-Channel ferries en route to Paris for Saturday's match.

Airline passengers were also stuck in lengthy queues at airports such as Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Bristol.

There is also high demand for sailings from families embarking on trips to the continent for half-term.

The port advised passengers to "pack adequate supplies including food and water" as it is expecting "a very busy week ahead".

On Friday P&O Ferries said: "Please be aware that there is heavy traffic at border control in the port of Dover.

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"If you are booked to travel today please allow at least 2.5hrs to clear all security checks.

"Rest assured, if you miss your sailing, you'll be on the first available once at check-in."

It added: "Please do not travel to the Port of Dover unless you have a booked ticket for travel.

"We have very limited space across our sailings today."