Tens of thousands of easyJet passengers have found their flight canceled due to a computer system crash.
The Independent understands that at least 200 flights have landed. Although the airline expects to resume operations at 3pm, it looks like there will be a lot of cancellations after this time.
At least 30 flights to and from Gatwick Airport, the company’s largest base, have been canceled.
Destinations include the Greek islands of Rhodes, Santorini and Mykonos.
A dozen flights have been blocked to and from Manchester, including a round trip to Antalya, Turkey.
Trips to Rhodes, Tenerife and Bodrum are also canceled from Luton.
Passengers are entitled to meals and accommodation if necessary, and to be booked on the first available flights.
A spokeswoman for easyJet said: “Unfortunately, we are currently having problems with computer systems, which means that flights leaving between 1pm and 3pm UK time today could be affected. .
“Our team of IT specialists is working to restore the systems as soon as possible.
“We advise customers who need to travel with us today to continue to consult Flight Tracker to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.
“We apologize for the inconvenience and would like to thank customers for their patience as we work to resolve this as soon as possible.”
According to European rules on air passenger rights, passengers are entitled to compensation of £ 220 or £ 350 per person, depending on the duration of the flight; the highest figure is for distances greater than 1,500 km.
At first, EasyJet seemed to suggest that it would not offer compensation to customers, sending a message to many saying the problem was “out of our control” and “considered an extraordinary circumstance.”
However, an airline spokesman has now contradicted the claim, telling The Independent that the “extraordinary” message was “sent by mistake”.