An estimated 50,000 British travellers have woken up where they did not intend to be this morning after 350 flights to, from and within the UK were cancelled on Friday.
At least 45 more flights to, from and within the UK have been cancelled on Saturday as airlines struggle to recover operations – affecting upwards of 7,000 passengers.
So what are their options for getting where they need to be?
Put Friday into context?
Friday 19 July was expected to be the busiest for five years – with more planes departing from British airports than at any time since the pandemic.
On a day like that, you need everything to go smoothly – but the delays and cancellations began almost at once. Some airlines’ online check-in stopped working, while at many airports the departure screens went blank.
With everything reverting to the analogue age, delays quickly built up – and the complex choreography required to get everyone safely away on holiday unravelled.
The failure could not have come at a worse time – when there was virtually no slack in the system. In that sense it is like the August bank holiday failure at Nats. But unlike previous failures this was truly global.
Where were the worst effects?
Not, for once, in the UK. Amsterdam airport, one of the biggest hubs in Europe, had a terrible day – which is one reason many thousands of Brits are stranded, because they had connecting flights on KLM.
Its sister airline, Air France, had similar problems at its Paris hub. Eurowings, the budget subsidiary of the German airline Lufthansa, cancelled dozens of flights linking airports such as Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and London Heathrow with various cities in Germany.
But amid the chaos and confusion, British Airways grounded more than 60 flights – mainly to and from London Heathrow, but also a dozen at London City. Lots of cancellations were made at the last minute.
Ryanair cancelled a total of 38 flights to and from London Stansted – which, with present booking loads, represents over 7,000 passengers.
There were some extreme delays too.
How are things looking on Saturday?
A mix of expected cancellations – for example British Airways flights from various points in Europe to London because the outbound plane didn’t go – and those where planes, pilots and cabin crew are out of position due to all the disruption on Friday.
In terms of places…
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