LONDON: The UK heatwave has gone out with a bang as thunderstorms overnight brought heavy rain and travel disruption.
The conditions have led to long delays on flights, ferries and Eurotunnel trains and a Met Office yellow warning remains in place for wind and rain in south-west England and south Wales.
Eurotunnel has warned passengers they face up to five-hour delays while there are two-hour waits in Dover.
There are further flight cancellations due to thunderstorms in Europe.
National Air Traffic Services (Nats) put temporary restrictions in place during the thundery weather on Friday, affecting flights from Edinburgh, Birmingham, Luton and Stansted.
The UK air traffic control service said: “Thunderstorms are particularly disruptive as they effectively block large swathes of airspace because aircraft cannot fly through them.”
A Stansted Airport spokesman said long queues shown in social media posts were caused by passengers who stayed overnight in the airport trying to re-book cancelled flights with airlines.
Gatwick and Luton airports tweeted that they are experiencing delays and possible cancellations because of adverse weather across Europe, and Heathrow said it had minor delays.
