The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is to investigate disruption at Gatwick airport that left thousands of passengers stranded on Christmas Eve.
Stormy weather in the South East of England meant a number of flights were delayed or cancelled.
The situation was exacerbated by a power cut that left much of the airport in darkness.
Angry travellers claimed they were left for hours without heat, food and water, while only having access to limited toilet facilities.
A spokesman from the CAA told Buying Business Travel: “We will be speaking to the airport, and finding out what exactly happened. Today the airport will be concentrating on its operations as we expect more stormy weather. But until we have all the facts we can’t say what is going to happen.”
The same on-duty spokesman confirmed in an article published on FT.com that airlines could receive compensation from the airport if its service levels are found not to have reach required standards.
The spokesman said: “…it’s possible a rebate could be issued to airlines because they are not receiving the kind of service they are due.”
British Airways, the second largest carrier at Gatwick, said it too would engage with the airport operators to help develop better contingency plans for future events.
A spokesman for the airline said: “Our priority is to ensure that Gatwick airport restores full power and operational capacity to all parts the north terminal as quickly as possible.
“This has been a very difficult few days for our customers at a very important time of the year and we are sorry for the issues they have faced as a result of the power failures.
“We will have detailed conversations with the owners of Gatwick Airport, other airlines and third party suppliers to understand how everyone involved at the airport can develop better contingency plans to help and support customers.”
At 4pm this afternoon, Gatwick made the following statement on its Facebook page: “Extraordinarily adverse weather across the region, including exceptionally heavy rain on Monday evening, caused all local waterways around Gatwick Airport to flood, resulting in significant damage to electrical substations and causing the loss of power to the North Terminal. This meant that facilities such as check-in desks, baggage and reclaim belts, terminal lighting and the pumps feeding water to the toilets were affected.
“Despite the power outage, we were able to safely keep the runway open and 414 of the scheduled 536 flights on Tuesday departed and arrived safely. We worked in close collaboration with our airline partners, handling agents, NATs and other on-airport partners to ensure that passengers were looked after, offered accommodation and provided information and advice.
“Unfortunately, there were some flight cancellations and due to the baggage issues some passengers’ bags were left at the airport. Most of these bags have been sent on now, but anyone still looking for information should please email: feedback@gatwickairport.com with their name, address, flight number and bag tag number, so that we can get the bags back to you as soon as possible.
“We would like to, of course, apologise for the upset and inconvenience the issues caused just before Christmas.”
Meanwhile, airports and train operators across the country were bracing themselves for another day of high winds and heavy rains.
The line between Gatwick and London Victoria is closed because of engineering works.
The airport has urged travellers to leave at least an extra two hours for journeys to Surrey.
Earlier today The Met Office issued an amber "be prepared" warning of gusts up to 80mph in north Wales and northern England, while more than 75 flood warnings have been issued in England, Wales and Scotland.
Fallen trees and debris have forced road closures across the Home Nations.