Ryanair strike: All flights depart as normal this morning despite pilot walkout

All the cancellations so far this morning are on British Airways, easyJet and Flybe

On time: Ryanair's operations from Southend and elsewhere are departing normally (Aaron Chesham)

Numerous flights to, from and within the UK have been cancelled this morning – but none is on Ryanair, whose British pilots are on strike in a dispute over a wide range of issues.

On Wednesday, the airline failed in its attempt to get the 48-hour stoppage ruled unlawful by the High Court. But Ryanair told passengers it intended to operate flights as normal, with the possibility of “some minor delays or flight changes”.

Yet the airline’s first wave of around 100 flights from UK airports today has departed with minimal disruption.

Ryanair has brought in pilots from other bases to cover for striking flight crew.

In contrast, other carriers have cancelled a wide range of flights.

British Airways from Heathrow to Dublin, Glasgow, Geneva and Madrid, and the return legs, have been cancelled for “operational reasons”. The airline says passengers have been re-booked on other flights.

Ryanair’s main rival, easyJet, has cancelled flights from Gatwick to Barcelona and Stansted to Amsterdam, as well as the inbound flights, because of “a technical issue within the fleet”.

The airline told passengers on both flights: “We’ve had to make changes to our flying programme and we are unable to operate your flight.”

They will be entitled to cash compensation of €250 (£230) per person.

Flybe has grounded its first round-trip of the day between Birmingham and Glasgow.

The airline also has some long delays of around three hours from Birmingham to Aberdeen, Biarritz, Edinburgh and Inverness, which could cause further problems later in the day.

The current strike by pilots at Ryanair ends at midnight on Friday. A three-day stoppage is planned for 2, 3 and 4 September.