Aviation faces hotter, stormier skies – and passengers might have to accept more disruption

Aviation faces hotter, stormier skies – and passengers might have to accept more disruption During a June heatwave that left the state sweltering, towering thunderclouds gathered over southern England and spread across much of Europe. It was a Saturday, with the holiday getaway underway, and thousands of travellers were making their way to Heathrow and Gatwick airports for outbound flights. The day was shaping up to be exceptionally busy. What followed, however, was chaos for travellers. As air traffic controllers struggled to track aircraft around the storms, airspace grew heavily congested and many planes due to depart were simply forced to hold on the ground. In the end, some 900 flights to and from the two airports were delayed, some by as long as 11 hours. Dozens more were cancelled. At airports across Europe