How do I know if my summer holiday flight will be cancelled and what are my rights?

It’s official: the chaos of last-minute flight cancellations seen in recent months has reached such a fever pitch that the Department for Transport (DfT) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have stepped in, warning airlines to curb summer schedules now to avoid misery later.

It follows numerous stories of passengers turning up to the airport – or even having boarded the plane – only to be told that their flight had been axed, wrecking thousands of travellers’ holiday plans.

In a joint letter to airlines, the DfT and CAA said: “Cancellations at the earliest possibility to deliver a more robust schedule are better for consumers than late-notice on-the-day cancellations.”

Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA, and Rannia Leontaridi, director-general for aviation at the DfT, wrote: “The outcomes for too many consumers recently have been unacceptable. It is imperative that we see an improvement to the resilience in the system, planning and scheduling to reflect the available capacity ahead of the summer period.

“Our expectation is that you and all those involved in delivering aviation services will take all possible steps to prepare for and manage passenger demand that helps to avoid the unacceptable scenes we have recently witnessed.”

Meanwhile, Gatwick announced it was putting a cap on the number of daily operations in July and August from a maximum of 900 departures and arrivals to 825 and 850 respectively.

Passengers on easyJet will bear the brunt of the cancelled flights, with British Airways, Wizz Air, Tui, Norwegian and Ryanair also expected to ground departures.

But how will you know if your flight has been cut and what are your rights if it doesn’t go ahead? Here’s what we know so far.

Why have airlines been cancelling flights?

A “perfect storm” has hit several airlines particularly hard. During the pandemic, carriers and airports alike laid off swathes of staff while travel bans made many flights impossible. The sudden widespread dropping of restrictions a few months ago saw a sudden surge in demand from travellers, but the aviation industry struggled to cope due to staff shortages. This was compounded by increased employee illness rates due to Covid.

In a statement in which it announced further flight cancellations this summer, easyJet gave the following explanations: “Given the unprecedented ramp up, the aviation industry across Europe is experiencing operational issues with root causes similar to the post-Covid supply chain…