Consumer rights group Which? has warned that the UK’s largest travel companies are failing to properly warn millions of holidaymakers about the risk of post-Brexit flight cancellations.

The consumer advocate said it asked tour operators Thomas Cook and Tui, airline Jet2 and online travel websites Expedia and On The Beach what they were doing to inform passengers what might happen to holidays being taken after the March 29 deadline next year for a Brexit deal with the EU.

Tour operators plan their schedules roughly a year in advance and some package holidays starting beyond the Brexit deadline are on sale now. Airlines such as Ryanair are likely to release their post-Brexit flights around September this year.

Which? said companies should be doing more to let customers know during the booking process about the possibility of grounded flights and what their compensation rights would be in such a situation.

Both Ryanair and Lufthansa have recently warned that UK holidaymakers could face flight disruption as a result of Brexit, something which prompted Which? to launch its Consumer Charter for Brexit.

The charter calls on the Government to deliver a Brexit that puts consumers first and includes securing an aviation deal to keep Britain's planes flying after the UK leaves the EU.

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Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, said: "This uncertainty for holidaymakers is just one of the many issues affecting people’s everyday lives that need to be resolved as we move closer to the date that the UK leaves the EU.

“We want to work with Government and businesses on issues such as this in order to deliver a Brexit that puts consumers first.”

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, the industry association for UK-registered carriers, responded to the report by saying it supported the Government’s aim of maintaining a liberal aviation agreement with the EU, something it thought was “readily achievable”.

“We support consumers having the same level of protection as the UK leaves the EU, and expect the current rules on compensation for delays, cancellations and denied boarding to apply in the UK following Brexit,” Mr Alderslade added.

“Just as they do today, airlines will continue to comply with all legal requirements, paying compensation quickly when it is due and making it easy for passengers to claim."