Passengers are facing long delays on flights, ferries and Eurotunnel trains because of extreme weather conditions.
Thunderstorms overnight brought heavy rain and travel disruption as the UK heatwave came to an end.
Passengers on the Eurotunnel face delays of up to four hours after the heat caused air conditioning problems on the cross-Channel trains.
There are further flight cancellations due to thunderstorms in Europe, and two-hour waits for ferries in Dover.
A Met Office yellow warning remains in place for wind and rain in south-west England and south Wales.
On one of the busiest weeks of the year for cross-Channel operator, air-conditioning units on Eurotunnel trains failed meaning some carriages could not be used.
The company says delays are likely to continue for the rest of the day and possibly into tomorrow.
Delays have been exacerbated by Friday’s stormy weather which meant passengers turned up late for their trains.
One train has been taken out of service due to a fault and tickets are not being sold for today, Eurotunnel added.
The company said the problems were due to “unprecedented” weather conditions and not a lack of investment in the stock.
‘How to ruin big family holiday’
Passengers were advised to take drinking water and find toilet facilities before arriving at the Folkestone terminal.
Trying to reach the terminal on Saturday morning Sarah Dodwell said: “Queuing on the M20 for Eurotunnel – how to ruin a one-week big family holiday.
“Huge delays to check-in and departure, followed by a six-hour drive to come, with young children, means nine very tired people.”
She said traffic on the M20 was very slow-moving and some cars were driving down the hard shoulder to beat
Rebecca Kelly from Lewes said she had left at 07:00 BST for Folkestone – a journey that should have been one-and-a-half hours – however by 11:00 she had still not yet reached the terminal building car park.
She described the situation as “annoying” but praised the check-in staff for their helpfulness.
However Dom Hughes, who was delayed by three hours, said: “I can accept delays but the total lack of communication is adding to the stress… Not a soul around to ask.”
BBC environment correspondent Claire Marshall was caught up in the delays as she and her family headed on their summer holidays.
She described the mood among would-be travellers as “stoic” with many accepting they were going to be stuck for hours.
Airport delays
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.
Ryanair were forced to cancel flights and apologised for the “weather and ATC [air traffic control] disruptions which are entirely beyond our control”.
Joe Allen was trying to get to Berlin from Stansted said: “It’s midnight, Ryanair have just cancelled my flight after waiting roughly six hours.
“The queue is just unending. It’s just incredible how unaccountable they are, there’s no one here to deal with it.”
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.
- 2018 and 1976 – a tale of two
Meanwhile, the main East Coast rail line was also affected.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) says lightning strikes damaged signalling equipment in the North East.
Some Edinburgh to London Kings Cross trains were cancelled due to the damaged signalling system between Morpeth and Berwick in Northumberland.
On the roads, motorists have been warned of lightning, flash flooding and
In Clacton, Essex the body of a teenage boy who went missing after going into the sea has been found.
The conditions meant the rare blood moon on Friday evening was not visible to many across the UK and Ireland.
Sir Tom Jones has apologised to fans after having to cancel a concert at York Racecoursedue to the thunder and lightning storms.
He said he was “disappointed” but added that lightening was “unpredictable, dangerous and causes havoc”.
Friday had been predicted to break the record for the hottest July day according to earlier forecasts, but the highest temperature reached was 34.7C (94.5F) at Tibenham Airfield, Norfolk.
The week’s highest temperature was recorded on Thursday, with Faversham, Kent, hitting 35.5C (96F).
There are 6 flood alerts in place affecting south-east England.
A yellow weather warning have been issued for Northern Ireland, where flooding of a few homes and business is expected on Saturday.
BBC