Naples, Faro and Copenhagen were among the 20 fallers yesterday morning. By the afternoon it was the turn of Bordeaux, Basel and others. These were among the easyJet flights cancelled at Gatwick yesterday. By mid-afternoon, 34 arrivals and departures had been grounded by Britain’s biggest budget airline from its main base – representing about 6,000 passengers. The reason, according to easyJet: “Air traffic control restrictions across Europe as a result of thunderstorms and capacity restrictions causing disruption.”
Friday – which was set to be the busiest day in the skies of Europe since Covid – was even worse. On top of some overheated weather in central and southeastern Europe and a technical hitch at the key air traffic control centre in Maastricht, all arrivals and departures at Gatwick were suspended for 50 minutes over Friday lunchtime. The cause: a British Airways 777 whose pilots decided to reject their take-off to Vancouver.
This story is from the June 30, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 30, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
An emergency cut short our trip - can we get a refund?
I am sorry to hear of the reason for curtailing the holiday. In such circumstances, the first issue is the arrangement for returning home early.
'Winning ugly' Raducanu evokes Three Lions spirit
It’s been two years since Emma Raducanu – 2021’s breakthrough British sporting star – strode out onto the Wimbledon stage with the weight of an expectant crowd on her shoulders.
Southgate hopes the lessons of 1966 can inspire success
As the Three Lions scrape through to the quarter-finals at Euro 2024, the England manager is drawing on history to keep his whole squad of players hungry
Shootout sends below-par Portugal into quarter-finals
The Cristiano Ronaldo show rumbled into Frankfurt, and it didn’t disappoint.
Dour France get lucky to sink Belgium in a stinker
Of course, it wasn’t pretty.
Bankers' bonuses return as families struggle with bills
The bonus boys and girls look set to make a comeback in the City of London.
Why Russia is ordering its troops to take no prisoners
Putin's commanders in Ukraine are compelling their men to murder defenceless enemies
Banksy's Glastonbury boat stunt was tasteless and lazy
Rather than Coldplay’s “spectacle of a lifetime”, or the return of Avril Lavigne, or the return (again) of the Sugababes, the Glastonbury moment that caught the nation’s attention was a tasteless stunt by Banksy.
Here's why I'm glad I caused a BA flight to be cancelled
It was all going swimmingly until we began our descent into Gatwick.
A 'Republican front' could yet deprive Le Pen of power
“We are in uncharted territory”, was the most neutral assessment of the first-round results in France’s legislative elections.
