With news that 1,700 flights have been cancelled by EasyJet this summer, thousands of holidaymakers have been forced to alter their travel plans. The budget airline has blamed tightened airspace and air traffic control difficulties for the cancellations in an announcement made just as schools are preparing to break for the holidays.
Most of the cancelled flights originate from Gatwick Airport and it has been reported more than 180,000 passengers will be affected by the cancellations. EasyJet says 95 per cent of passengers have booked onto an alternative flight.
A statement from EasyJet said: "We are currently operating up to around 1,800 flights and carrying around 250,000 customers per day with more crew and pilots flying than ever before and like all airlines, we review our flights on an ongoing basis. As Eurocontrol has stated, the whole industry is seeing challenging conditions this summer with more constrained air space due to the war in Ukraine resulting in unprecedented ATC delays, as well as further potential ATC strike action.
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"We have therefore made some pre-emptive adjustments to our programme consolidating a small number of flights at Gatwick, where we have multiple daily frequencies, in order to help mitigate these external challenges on the day of travel for our customers, and we continue to operate around 90,000 flights over this period.
"Customers whose flights are affected are being informed, with 95 per cent of customers being rebooked onto an alternative flight and all customers provided with the option to rebook or receive a refund. We are sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused."
So what can you do? According to EasyJet's website, there are a number of options available if you are one of the approximate 180,000 people affected by the cancellations - or if your regular flight is cancelled.
Flight cancelled
If your flight is cancelled, EasyJet will let you switch onto another flight to your destination for free. This includes flights to and from near by airports in the same country, if there is no direct flight available, and other indirect flights on the EasyJet network.
If your next available flight it not until the following day, EasyJet can offer a hotel room, if you need one. EasyJet says: "We will always do our best to provide customers with overnight accommodation. In times of widespread disruption that’s not always possible so we may ask you to find your own accommodation.
"In this case we ask that you look for accommodation, which is three stars or equivalent like Premier Inn, IBIS, Holiday Inn, Hotel Formule 1, Travelodge or Motel-One."
While the airline says it will try to get passengers on a new flight within 24 hours, if this is not possible, you are able to transfer to another airline, take a bus, train, or hire car. "The alternative transport must be under comparable transport conditions (e.g. economy or standard fare) to your destination, and you will be entitled to claim reasonable transport costs back. If you need additional support or special assistance, please contact our team," EasyJet says on it's website.
"Please ensure you obtain a detailed itemised receipt. For more information on how to claim back expenses or for further help please refer to our expenses page, alternatively, you can contact us. Please note that you cannot claim for both a refund for your flight and rerouting on alternative transport."
You can also claim a vouched for the full price of the booking. This is valid for 12 months and means you can book on for anywhere in the network at any time.
You can also simply claim a refund for the full value of the ticket. Refunds will be paid to the account you made the booking with. Requests are processed within seven days and may take a few more to come through to your account.
EasyJet says: "If you booked through a tour operator or travel agent, they will be able to help you with your travel plans. You can also choose to manage your easyJet flights directly in Manage Bookings.
"If you need further assistance and your agent is unable to help you, please contact our Customer Services Team. Remember to let your tour operator or travel agent know about any changes you make."
