All the easyJet flights cancelled today from UK airports

Airline says it is pro-actively cancelling 240 flights in the 10 days to 6 June, giving passengers some advance notice

Britain's biggest budget airline, easyJet, has cancelled at least 30 European flights on Friday to and from its biggest base, London Gatwick airport.

They include round-trips from Gatwick to Athens, Venice and Catania in Sicily.

The airline says it is proactively cancelling 240 flights in the 10 days to 6 June, giving passengers some advance notice. But there are also some last-minute groundings, with travellers to Milan Malpensa and Madrid given only two hours’ notice that their flights were axed.

While airlines do not disclose passenger loads on the grounds of commercial sensitivity, if an average of 150 people were booked on each flight at the point of cancellation then 4,500 travellers will have been affected by today’s cancellations.

Friday flights cancelled by easyJet to and from London Gatwick

• Pristina
• Athens
• Venice
• Sofia
• Madrid
• Milan Malpensa
• Milan Bergamo
• Hamburg
• Prague
• Catania
• Budapest
• Tirana
• Copenhagen
• Barcelona
• Munich

There are also some domestic flights cancelled from other bases, such as Bristol to Newcastle and back.

Besides the cancellations by easyJet, British Airways has been culling dozens of flights each day from its planned schedule – particularly to and from its largest base, London Heathrow.

All passengers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to new flights on the original day of departure if a seat is available, even if it is on a rival airline.

If the cancellation was announced less than two weeks in advance and the airline is responsible, they are also due cash compensation.

Airbus A319 aircraft belonging to easyJet in the UK are having one row of seats removed to save on cabin crew requirements.