The British Airways flight from London Heathrow Airport to Dalaman Airport in Turkey was ultimately canceled, leaving travelers forced to change plans

NEED TO KNOW

• Passengers on the British Airways flight BA802 from London Heathrow Airport to Turkey’s Dalaman Airport on Saturday, June 27, were stuck on the tarmac for eight and a half hours before disembarking
• They were given free water and potato chips during the ordeal, with one passenger praising the first officer for their communication throughout
• It’s thought that more than 1,000 U.K. flights were canceled or delayed over the weekend due to thunderstorms, with London and the southeast most severely affected

Thunderstorms over the weekend affected more than 1,000 flights leaving the U.K., with one plane stuck on the tarmac for eight and a half hours before passengers could disembark.

About 120 flights were canceled in total, with a further 900 delayed, across some of the country's largest airports, U.K. newspaper The Times reported.

Heavy rain, thunder and lightning followed a record-breaking heatwave, with London and the southeast of the U.K. impacted most severely.

British Airways' flight BA802 was scheduled to leave London Heathrow Airport at 6:15 a.m. local time on Saturday, June 27, landing in Turkey's Dalaman Airport four hours later, according to Flightradar24.

Passengers were late to board, but were in their seats by 7 a.m. The plane then pulled back from the gate, but went into "no man's land," one traveler told The Times.

The pilots and crew, who gave the passengers free water and potato chips, were replaced after using up their allotted hours, with a new crew arriving at 2 p.m., but the flight was ultimately canceled, the newspaper reported.

Passengers were only allowed to disembark at 3:30 p.m., some eight and a half hours after they boarded, The Times said.

When trying to rebook, they were told there were no more British Airways flights to Dalaman, which serves as a gateway to some of Turkey's most popular beach resorts, for three days.

A passenger told The Times that there was a "sense of relief" when they finally left the plane, praising the first officer for their communication throughout the ordeal, adding that everybody was "just desperate to leave."

"It was hardest for the elderly and families with young children, but at least the air conditioning was on," they added.

NATS, the U.K.'s air traffic control service, said on Saturday that the weather conditions meant aircraft would need to "avoid affected areas and be spaced further apart," impacting flights for the rest of the day and overnight, per the BBC.

The service added, per The Times, that about 6,000 flights typically cross U.K. airspace each day, but that only about 2,500 had done so by 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Lee Robinson, who was due to fly from Glasgow Airport in Scotland to London Heathrow on Saturday afternoon, told the outlet that British Airways delayed his flight by more than two hours before canceling and booking him onto a flight three days later. He described this as "totally unacceptable."

He paid for a new flight to London Stansted Airport later that evening instead.

Another traveler, Adam Joseph, told the BBC that he was stuck at Venice Marco Polo Airport in Italy without air conditioning because his British Airways flight to London Gatwick Airport had been delayed.

"We could've stayed at the hotel for another three to four hours," he said in frustration. "We are also being told that even in the event of a four-hour-plus delay, because of an air traffic control restriction, we will not be entitled to compensation… People are very angry."

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In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for British Airways said, "Like other airlines, we had to make some adjustments to our schedule on Saturday due to air traffic control restrictions caused by adverse weather conditions affecting parts of U.K. airspace. While the majority of our customers were unaffected, we apologised for the inconvenience caused and our teams worked hard to help those impacted get their journeys back on track."

The airline added that affected customers were given options, including rebooking to alternative flights with itself or another airline, or a full refund.

PEOPLE also reached out to London Heathrow Airport and NATS for comment, did not immediately hear back.

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