London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

EasyJet cancels hundreds of half-term flights from Gatwick as getaway begins

EasyJet cancels hundreds of half-term flights from Gatwick as getaway begins

UK airports, ports and roads under pressure with Dover passengers facing long queues and motorists warned of major jams
EasyJet has cancelled more than 200 flights over half-term from London Gatwick, upending the plans of tens of thousands of holidaymakers in the busiest period for air travel since the pandemic.

The last-minute cancellations came the day after the airline, Britain’s biggest by passenger numbers, suffered IT problems that left a further 200 flights unable to take off, and followed cancellations earlier in the day at London Gatwick in the early morning peak.

Friday was the busiest day at British airports since the start of the pandemic, as half-term holiday began for the vast majority of schools across England and Wales. Travellers trying to take cross-Channel ferries also faced long queues at Dover, while drivers around the country were warned to expect jams.

EasyJet’s decision to cancel about 240 flights over 10 days had been prompted by a combination of issues affecting operations, a spokeswoman said. She said: “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 and provided with the option to rebook their flight or receive a refund and can apply for compensation in line with regulations.”

Meanwhile, the RAC issued a warning over congestion on motorways and major A roads as an estimated 17.9m leisure trips by road will be made between Friday and Sunday, with Saturday the busiest day.

Its spokesman Rod Dennis said: “Major routes to holiday destinations will start to clog up … Drivers can beat the worst of the queues by planning the time of their trips carefully. An early start is always best or, failing that, driving at dusk if that’s a feasible option.”

Passengers travelling to Europe via Dover – including thousands of Liverpool supporters heading to Paris for football’s Champions League final on Saturday night – were facing long queues at the port, at the start of the half-term getaway.

The Port of Dover advised passengers to pack supplies of food and water as it expected a “very busy week ahead”. Irish Ferries warned customers to expect delays of up to three hours at port security and check-in, and P&O Ferries warned of heavy traffic at border control. Passengers who miss sailings are normally accommodated on the next service.

Almost 8,000 flights will depart from UK airports this weekend, from Friday until Sunday, according to data from the analysts Cirium, with Friday seeing the highest number of scheduled departures since March 2020.

Despite the increase in passenger numbers coming on the back of Thursday’s cancellation chaos, Britain’s airports stressed they were coping with the increased demand.

Gatwick said early check-in queues had cleared by the mid-morning, as it prepared for more than 800 flights and 120,000 passengers at the airport on Friday, the highest numbers since March 2020..

Manchester airport, where there have been some delays, said it was expecting a busy weekend – but that while queues in security had been as long as one hour early on Friday, they were now moving quickly. The airport is seeking to recruit hundreds of new security officers, after taking on 200 starters in the last month.

Unions warned that delays were likely to play out through half-term and could be worse in the summer holidays.

Unite, which represents tens of thousands of aviation workers, blamed airlines and airports for laying off employees during the pandemic and paying low wages.

Its general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “We warned this corporate greed would cause chaos in the industry. The aftermath of mass sackings is now chronic staff shortages across the board. Current pay and conditions in the industry are so poor that workers are voting with their feet.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×