easyJet at London Gatwick

easyJet at Gatwick

Gatwick is easyJet’s largest base and a single-runway airport: when fog, wind or an air-traffic-control staffing shortage cuts the arrival rate, easyJet’s departures are held or cancelled in waves, and the airline’s usual defence is the ATC restriction that did it. That defence is real for the flights actually held — but a cancellation made the following morning to reset the rotation is easyJet’s own choice and must be justified with the reasonable-measures test.

Every departure from Gatwick is a UK departure, so UK261 applies whichever easyJet entity operated the flight, and the amounts are £220, £350 or £520 per passenger. easyJet UK, which operates most Gatwick flights, belongs to AviationADR; the UK CAA is the enforcement body. Claims go through easyJet’s online delays-and-cancellations form; escalate to AviationADR after a rejection or eight weeks of silence.

Overnight cancellations at Gatwick are common because the airport’s night restrictions leave little room to recover late in the evening. easyJet must then offer a hotel or reimburse the one you book; keep the receipt.

Rules for easyJet flights departing London Gatwick Airport

Every departure from London Gatwick Airport is covered by UK261, whichever easyJet entity operated the aircraft: the departure airport decides the regime, the operating carrier only matters for flights into Europe from outside it. Fixed compensation is £220 per passenger on flights up to 1,500 km, £350 between 1,500 and 3,500 km and £520 beyond — from 3 hours of arrival delay, for a cancellation announced less than 14 days ahead without a replacement inside the legal windows, or for denied boarding — unless easyJet proves extraordinary circumstances.

What easyJet owes whatever the cause

A cancellation at London Gatwick Airport always gives you the choice between a full cash refund within 7 days and re-routing, plus meals, refreshments and, if you are kept overnight, a hotel and the transport to it. A delay gives the same care from 2, 3 or 4 hours depending on the distance, and a refund from 5 hours if you abandon the trip. None of this depends on the cause: weather and air-traffic control remove the compensation, never the refund or the care.

Claiming and escalating from London Gatwick Airport

1. Submit the claim through easyJet’s official channel (https://www.easyjet.com/en/help/delays-and-cancellations), one claim per booking, with the booking reference, the flight and date, the arrival delay or the cancellation notice, and the amount per passenger.
2. If easyJet refuses or is silent for 8 weeks, escalate to AviationADR; the enforcement body for London Gatwick Airport is UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
3. A small claim in the courts of the departure country remains available within its limitation period.