Tens of thousands of easyJet passengers have found their flight cancelled by an IT systems failure.

The Independent understands that at least 200 flights have been grounded. While the airline hopes to restart operations at 3pm, there appear to be many cancellations after that time.

At least 30 flights to and from Gatwick Airport, the carrier’s biggest base, have been cancelled.

Destinations include the Greek islands of Rhodes, Santorini and Mykonos.

To and from Manchester, a dozen flights have been grounded, including a round trip to Antalya in Turkey.

From Luton, trips to Rhodes, Tenerife and Bodrum are also cancelled.

Passengers are entitled to meals and accommodation if necessary, and to be rebooked on the first available flights.

A spokeswoman for easyJet said: “Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing IT systems issues which means that flights due to depart between 13:00 and 15:00 UK time today may be impacted.

“Our team of IT specialists is working to restore the systems as soon as possible.

“We advise customers due to travel with us today to continue to check Flight Tracker to check the status of their flight before making their way to the airport.

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused and would like to thank customers for their patience as we work to resolve this as soon as possible.”

Under European air passengers’ rights rules, passengers are entitled to ompensation of £220 or £350 per person depending on the length of the flight; the higher figure is for distances above 1,500km.

EasyJet initially seemed to suggest they would not offer customers compensation, sending a message to many saying the problem was “outside of our control” and “considered to be an extraordinary circumstance”.

However, a spokesperson for the airline has now contradicted that claim, telling The Independent the “extraordinary” message was “sent in error”.

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