Thunderstorms delay hundreds of Heathrow and Gatwick flights

Hundreds of flights at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports have been delayed as the UK's air traffic control service warned disruption was expected to continue into Sunday. More than 900 inbound and outbound flights at the two travel hubs have been delayed for up to 11 hours and dozens cancelled, according to tracker FlightAware, many due to thunderstorms. NATS, the UK's air traffic control service, said adverse weather conditions meant aircraft needed to "avoid affected areas and be spaced further apart" and this would impact flights for the "remainder of Saturday and overnight". Gatwick and Heathrow advised passengers to check the status of their flights with airlines before travelling. More than 474 flights arriving at or departing from Heathrow were delayed and another 439 in and out of Gatwick on Saturday, according to FlightAware. Delays to affected flights vary. Heathrow's arrival board showed a British Airways flight from Santiago, Chile, that was due to land at 10:00 BST was not expected to arrive until 21:00. Europe-wide aviation agency Eurocontrol mapping showed the most severe air traffic control delays were in airspace between south-east England and north-western Eu