Tens of thousands of easyJet passengers have discovered that their flight has been canceled due to damage to IT systems.
The Independent understands that at least 200 flights have been suspended. Although the airline hopes to resume operations at 3 p.m., there appear to be many cancellations after that time.
At least 30 flights to and from Gatwick Airport, the carrier’s largest base, have been canceled.
Destinations include the Greek islands of Rhodes, Santorini and Mykonos.
Dozens of flights to and from Manchester have been suspended, including a two-way trip to Antalya in Turkey.
From Luton, trips to Rhodes, Tenerife and Bodrum are also canceled.
Passengers have the right to food and accommodation, if necessary, and to be booked during the first available flights.
An easyJet spokeswoman said: “Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing problems with IT systems, which means that flights that need to take off between 13:00 and 15:00 British time today may 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 keep checking Flight Tracker to check the status of their flight before going 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 length of the flight; the higher figure is for distances over 1500 km.
Initially, EasyJet assumed that they would not offer compensation to customers, sending a message to many that the problem was “beyond our control” and “considered an emergency.”
However, a spokesman for the airline has already denied the allegations, telling The Independent that the “emergency” message was “sent by mistake”.
Add Comment