Gatwick Airport is forcing airlines to cancel dozens of flights for the rest of the week because of staff shortages in air-traffic control blamed on Covid.
The airport is imposing a daily cap on the number of flights until Sunday – a move that will see tens of thousands of passengers delayed, cancelled or diverted to other airports.
It is the third air-traffic control slowdown at the airport so far this month, with easyJet being the airline most affected.
Almost one-third of staff in the control tower at Gatwick – the world’s busiest single-runway airport – are unable to work “for a variety of medical reasons including Covid” leading to a reduced “flow rate” of flights.
More than 40 flights were cancelled over the weekend, and now the airport has limited airlines to a total of 800 takeoffs and landings a day.
This is much lower than the planned 840 on Thursday, 865 on Friday, and 830 on Sunday.
Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick, said: “This has been a difficult decision but the action we have taken today means our airlines can fly reliable flight programmes, which gives passengers more certainty that they will not face last-minute cancellations.
“We are working closely with Nats to build resilience in the control tower, and this decision means we can prevent as much disruptions as possible. London Gatwick would like to apologise to any passengers who have been impacted by these restrictions.”
By far the largest number of cancellations will be on easyJet – by far the largest airline at Gatwick.
Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, said: “While it is regrettable that a temporary limit on capacity at Gatwick airport is required, we believe that it is the right action by the airport so on-the-day cancellations and delays can be avoided.
“Gatwick airport and Nats now need to work on longer term plan so the resilience of air-traffic control at Gatwick is improved and fit for purpose.
“Our call for a more wide-ranging review of Nats remains so the broader issues can be examined so it can deliver robust services to passengers now and in the future.”
In a statement, Nats said: “We have worked very closely with Gatwick airport throughout. Given the levels of sickness we have experienced over the last few weeks we believe it is the responsible thing to do to limit the number of flights this week in…
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