EasyJet cancels dozens more flights, stranding more than 3,000 passengers

Short-notice cancellations on Friday from Gatwick include flights to Palma de Mallorca and Milan

Going places? Passengers boarding an easyJet Airbus A320 (Simon Calder)

As around 30,000 easyJet passengers caught up in Thursday’s IT systems failure try to reach their destinations, the airline has grounded at least 20 more UK flights at short notice – affecting upwards of 3,000 passengers.

At a few hours’ notice, Britain’s biggest budget airline cancelled seven round-trips from Gatwick, serving destinations including Palma de Mallorca and Milan.

Earlier in the week, easyJet had grounded a dozen flights to and from Gatwick, which is its biggest base.

The destinations affected were Amsterdam, Madrid, Hamburg, Pisa, Rome and Barcelona.

Domestic flights connecting Bristol with Newcastle and Edinburgh were also grounded at short notice.

The 7.05am departure from Manchester airport to Amsterdam was cancelled at four hours’ notice. The return leg could not operate.

Many flights sustained long delays, with departures from Gatwick to Athens and Corfu as well as Manchester to Malta running two hours or more late.

A spokesperson for easyJet said: “Yesterday we operated almost 1,500 flights network wide. Around 200 were impacted by an IT systems issue which was rectified within a couple of hours.

“Today we plan to operate around 1,700 flights but unfortunately a small number have been impacted this morning. Customers have been notified and provided with options to rebook or receive a refund.

“We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

Affected passengers who learnt their flight is grounded are also due cancellation compensation of £220 or, for flights above 1,500km, £350.

They are entitled to be flown to their destination on the same day if seats are available, even on alternative airlines at easyJet’s expense.

Under European air passengers’ rights rules the airline must also meet expenses for hotels and meals while the passenger is waiting to travel.

The Independent understands that easyJet will not be operating any additional flights to clear the passengers hoping to fly on some of its less frequent routes such as Belfast to Corfu, Liverpool to Dalaman and Gatwick to Hurghada.