EasyJet axed 112 flights today but tried to limit cancellations to destinations which passengers could take trains to. Rival low-fare carrier Ryanair had to scrap more than 50 flights.

Some of the worst travel chaos was endured by passengers due to fly to the USA. One of the unluckiest travellers was Leicester University student Michael Collins, 20, who was attempting to attend his parents’ wedding anniversary in France. Having had his flight from Nottingham cancelled on Thursday, he rebooked from Stansted today only to find - having journeyed from his home in Sheffield - that this second flight had also been axed.

He said today: “It seems I’ve spent the last day or so sitting in airports or trying to get trains to another airport. Now there isn’t a flight to Nantes
until next Monday, so it looks like I won’t be going to France. I’m heading back to Sheffield.”

Carl and Vanessa Edwardson, from Crosby, Merseyside, had hoped to fly to Canada from Manchester at 11am today but were told they were likely to be stranded in the UK until 4am on Saturday. Electrical engineer Mr Edwardson, 39, said: “We were looking forward to the holiday of a lifetime and we hope it is not the nightmare of a lifetime.”

British Airways says the "vast majority" of its flights are operating today with customers advised to check ba.com for the latest flight information. The airline expects all longhaul flights from Gatwick to operate as well as all longhaul flights from Heathrow - with the exception of six services to the US (three flights to New York JFK and one each to Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco). Flights to the US from Heathrow and Gatwick are also likely to be subject to delays.

BA's Gatwick operation cancelled all nine domestic flights before 12 noon but ome 70 per cent of shorthaul and domestic services to and from Heathrow are expected to operate today. All shorthaul and domestic services operated by regional subsidiary BA Connect to and from UK regional airports (not Heathrow and Gatwick) should operate as normal, albeit with some delays.

A Heathrow airport spokeswoman said tonight: “Things have been a lot better today than on Thursday. There will be delays again tomorrow (Saturday) but we are expecting and hoping that there will be another big improvement in punctuality.”

Low-cost carrier easyJet cancelled 112 flights today compared with 300 yesterday and said operations were returning to normal. Ryanair listed about 50 cancellations from Stansted Airport on its website while Virgin Atlantic said it expected to operate its normal flight schedule today but warned of some delays. Bmi had also resumed its flights

A BAA Gatwick spokesman said that 44 cancelled flights were principally affecting British Airways and easyJet today, adding that all Virgin Atlantic flights were delayed. Hundreds slept at the airport last night.

Isabel Middlemiss, 72, from Hounslow, Middlesex, found out this morning that there is no immediate hope of getting her holiday flight to Egypt. “I’m looking forward to going home now. We spent the night sleeping in the airport because we were quoted £179 to stay the night in a nearby hotel.”

Flights from Liverpool and Manchester airports were taking off this morning, albeit with delays. Nottingham East Midlands Airport reports that there are no cancellations today and only minor delays. Bosses at Birmingham International Airport said things were returning to normal today. A spokeswoman said 80 per cent of flights were leaving and arriving on time - the average delay was 20 minutes. Three exceptions were flights from America, two of which were running 90 minutes late and one which was running two hours late

European airlines also said their services to London were getting back on track, although they faced a logistical nightmare as people who were unable to fly on Thursday clamoured for seats on flights.

In Madrid, the Iberia airline said it was switching its biggest aircraft, the Airbus 340-600, capable of carrying 400 passengers, on to flights between Spain and Britain in an attempt to clear the backlog. Paris’ main Charles de Gaulle airport said flights to the United States and Britain were experiencing some delays, but planes were taking off.

At another busy European hub, Amsterdam’s Schiphol, authorities said delays and cancellations were still affecting flights early in the day. “Things are only slowly getting back on track,” a spokeswoman said.

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