Jeff Chan, 26, was due to fly to Venice at 20:50 for a hiking trip in the Dolomites in Italy, but the flight was delayed by six hours.

He received updates through his airline app, but said he "heard nothing from the airport".

He said his bus from Luton Station Parkway was cancelled due to flooding on the roads near the airport, though the Luton DART shuttle remained in service.

"It was actually quite peaceful on the journey here," he said.

"It was only when we got near the airport, it started getting pretty bad."

He added that there was a lot of confusion due to the lack of clarity, with some people expecting to stay at the airport overnight.

"Lots of people are travelling with kids and they don't know what they're doing," he added.

"People are calling friends and family. They know there are delays, but no one knows how long for."

A NATS spokesperson said: "Severe thunderstorms have affected parts of the south east this evening, causing significant disruption to flights at London Luton and Stansted airports.

"Flights to and from London Luton Airport have now resumed following an earlier suspension caused by a lightning strike affecting Air Traffic Control equipment. We apologise for the disruption caused."

Additional reporting by Josh Elgin.

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