IT glitch creates turmoil for easyJet passengers across Europe
Airline passengers faced fresh disruption on Thursday after an IT glitch forced easyJet to cancel about 200 flights around Europe.
The airline scrapped a stream of flights due to take off between 1pm and 3pm, affecting dozens to and from UK airports, including its biggest base at Gatwick.
EasyJet, Britain’s largest airline by passenger numbers, said it had rectified the issue by mid-afternoon but there were knock-on delays to other flights. The cause of the problem was not immediately known.
Passengers at Manchester, Luton and Bristol were among the estimated tens of thousands affected.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “The earlier IT systems issues have now been rectified. Unfortunately, they resulted in some cancellations earlier today and while we expect to operate most of our remaining flying programme some may still be subject to some disruption in the coming hours.
“We advise customers due to travel with us to continue to check Flight Tracker for the status of their flight before making their way to the airport. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
The problems at easyJet are the latest to hit the aviation industry, which has struggled to cope with the surge of demand for travel after restrictions were lifted at the end of the pandemic.
EasyJet was forced to cancel hundreds of flights last month due to staff sickness as coronavirus continued to affect airlines and airports, even as passengers were permitted to enter the UK without restrictions.
British Airways also decided to pre-emptively cancel about 100 flights a day until the end of October to ensure it could operate its schedule effectively.
Long queues have persisted at airports since Easter, with Manchester in particular having seen chaotic scenes and delays
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