In comments posted on X (formerly Twitter), on Thursday (31 August), Harper said: “Tomorrow [Friday] I will meet the industry again, bringing together Nats, the CAA, Border Force, airlines, airports and trade groups to discuss the latest situation ahead of the start of the new school year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

The transport secretary added that he was “closely monitoring the situation”.

“Airlines have worked incredibly hard to fly passengers back, and I remain in contact with industry to ensure we’re doing everything possible to get passengers home as quickly as possible,” Harper said.

But he acknowledged that many passengers remain stranded overseas and are waiting for flights home to the UK as many flights from popular holiday destinations remain full.

Meanwhile easyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren has demanded a full independent review into the meltdown on Monday (28 August), which saw more than a quarter of UK inbound and outbound flights cancelled after the catastrophic ATC malfunction.

The National Air Traffic Service (Nats) said that initial investigations found that incoming flight data it received led to the meltdown which caused the widespread chaos across the aviation industry. It is continuing to investigate and is due to send a preliminary report to the transport secretary early next week.