“It’s very unfair because the air traffic control system which was at the heart of this failure doesn’t pay a single penny,” added the former chief executive of IAG, whose main airline is British Airways.

Costs included finding new flights for stranded passengers and providing overnight accommodation.

Walsh expressed doubt over the reason provided by UK body, the National Air Traffic Services (Nats), for the breakdown, which said an “unusual piece of data” caused the widespread flight disruption.

“I find it staggering, I really do. This system should be designed to reject data that’s incorrect, not to collapse the system,” he said.

“If that is true, it demonstrates a considerable weakness that must have been there for some time and I’m amazed if that is the cause of this.”

Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe said an “unusual piece of data” had caused the widespread flight disruption.

While more than one quarter of flights arriving and departing the UK were cancelled on Monday, only about one per cent were unable to take off on Wednesday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Hundreds of thousands face disruption at London’s Gatwick Airport this summer

It comes as the global sector sees a strong recovery from the Covid shutdown.

Aviation analytics company Cirium said 64 flights due to serve UK airports on Wednesday were cancelled as of 9am, as the issue continued to have a knock-on effect with aircraft and crews in the wrong position.

There were 1,585 flights cancelled on Monday, while 345 were axed on Tuesday.

Many affected travellers are being told to wait several days for flights home. Some have been forced to sleep on floors or makeshift beds at airports, or take long routes by land after their flights were cancelled.

Airlines were criticised for failing to book hotel rooms for many people who were delayed overnight.

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Passengers in China thrown to plane ceiling in turbulence

Passengers in China thrown to plane ceiling in turbulence

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said on Tuesday night: “Airlines are clear about their responsibilities to their customers and I stand ready to provide further appropriate support from the Government should the industry request it.

“Although the air traffic control system is back up and running, the knock-on effects of [Monday’s] disruption are likely to continue over the coming days.”

Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: “We’re seeing worrying reports of passengers being left stranded without support, and airlines failing to properly communicate with their passengers or fulfil their legal obligations such as offering timely re-routing or providing overnight accommodation.

“In particular, travellers should be aware that their airline has a responsibility to divert them as soon as possible, even if that means buying them a ticket with a rival carrier – a rule that some airlines appear to be ignoring.”

Applications for Hong Kong path to UK citizenship show no signs of slowing

There is speculation the ATC failure was caused by a French airline submitting a flight plan to Nats in the wrong format.

Downing Street did not rule out that possibility, while Nats declined to comment on whether that was what happened.

Britain’s government has ordered a review into the incident, which it claimed was not linked to cybersecurity.