Airline Jet2 has issued an urgent warning to passengers, saying some of the key routes in the Mediterranean are facing delays and disruption. The Easter Mediterranean and Balearic Islands including Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera have been hit by violent thunderstorms - and more are forecast.
The airline said that disruption may take place until Wednesday July 3 and warned people that they needed to allow more time to get to the airport and also plan for poor driving conditions. In an update late on Sunday Jet2 said: “We are currently experiencing some Air Traffic Control slot delays on flights that are due to arrive, depart or fly across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balearic Islands, this is due to adverse weather conditions (Thunder Storms) in many parts of Eastern Europe.
“If you are currently on holiday and experiencing bad weather, please allow plenty of time to get to the airport and allow for potential bad road conditions on route. Our UK Based Operations team is working hard to minimise disruption to our flying programme, however, you may experience some disruption if you are travelling to/from areas affected.”
The airline said that people should check their website before setting off to make sure of the flight details and added that currently there are not cancellations. It said: “All Jet2.com flights are operating. Where possible we will board flights as close to on time as possible, this will allow us to achieve a departure as soon as we are given clearance from Air Traffic Control. We apologise in advance if this causes an extended wait on board before you depart. Our Friendly Red Team and Crew will keep you updated.
“For updates, please ensure that your contact details are up to date via ‘Manage My Booking’ as all updates will not only be displayed on this page of the Jet2.com website, we will also SMS and Email affected customers using the details on your booking. You can update your contact details as often as you wish and at any time on the App or our website. We will continue to monitor this situation and look forward to welcoming you on board very soon.“
The area is often hit by violent storms - last month there were 826 lightning strikes in the Balearic Islands in 24 hours, with 2cm diameter hailstones also. Extreme weather in recent days has caused chaos in a number of locations, including Mallorca where 9cm of rain fell in less than an hour on June 11. The island’s airport Palma temporarily grounded flights due to flooding on the runway, while footage shared on social media shows rain gushing through the ceiling in the duty-free store.