Chaos for thousands of holidaymakers and commuters due to  ‘extraordinary’ weather conditions

More than 15,000 easyJet passengers descended into chaos last night after the airline was forced to cancel flights due to severe weather conditions 

A spokesperson for the easyJet said: ‘Thunderstorms in the Gatwick area which restricted the number of arrivals and departures on Sunday unfortunately resulted in disruption at London Gatwick Airport, including some diversions and cancellations which is having a knock-on impact this morning as a number of aircraft are out of position.

‘We are doing all possible to minimise the impact on our customers, providing those on cancelled flights with options to rebook or receive a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals where required.’ 

The airline has also stated that the disruption is ‘outside of our control and is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance’.

Chaotic scenes at Gatwick airport as 15,000 passengers watched their flights being cancelled or disrupted by severe weather 

The airline has been criticised by a lack of staff on the desks 

Holidaymakers have reacted furiously to the news on social media

That means the airline will not pay flight delay compensation to affected travellers.

Gatwick airport said: ‘Air traffic control suspended flights while a storm passed over the South East.’

Meanwhile, Gatwick Express, which runs non-stop trains between the airport and central London, was suspended on Monday.

The operator said this was due to ‘urgent repairs to the track’ after a set of points – which allow trains to move from one line to another – were damaged in the East Croydon area.

Passengers travelling to or from the airport were advised to use Southern and Thameslink services, which are slower as they stop at intermediate stations.

The company told the PA news agency its operations at the West Sussex airport on Sunday night were ‘impacted by thunderstorm activity’, which caused a knock-on effect on Monday as aircraft and crew were out of position. 

EasyJet’s website stated that cancellations were due to ‘poor weather conditions across the UK and Europe’, which caused ‘extended air traffic control restrictions to all departures and arrivals’.

Airline commuters have reacted furiously to the news on Twitter, deeming staff as ‘useless’.

One user wrote: ‘Our flight from Charles de Gaulle Airport was cancelled last night we have been abandoned at Mercure Le Bourget. No info and no transfer back to the airport. Staff are useless.’

Others took aim at the airliner’s lack of ’empathy’ and ‘next to nothing compensation’.

One user slammed the airline for not putting enough staff on, saying ‘other companies have lots of attendants with no queues, because they are efficient’.

Severe weather conditions have been cited as the reason for the cancellations, as hot and humid temperatures mean the mercury shows no sign of letting off.

The severe heat will bring thunderstorms to parts of the country later today

Temperatures are tipped to soar to 28C – but relief might come for some this afternoon with thunderstorms forecast.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms and rain throughout the country on Monday, contrasting to the blistering sunshine seen over the weekend.

A century-old Gothic-style church in North Wales was struck by lightning on Sunday night and thousands of holidaymakers face disruption to their getaways as airlines are forced to cancel flights due to severe weather.

Temperatures are unlikely to drop for the rest of the week as heat maps reveal which parts of the country are about to hot up.