London’s Gatwick Airport has been hit by further chaos due to illnesses among air traffic controllers.
London’s Gatwick Airport is facing further flight disruptions this week, but this time the strikes aren’t to blame.
Air traffic controllers at the UK’s second largest airport have been hit by COVID-19, forcing the busy transport hub to limit flights.
Until Sunday, a daily limit of 800 flights taking off or landing was imposed at Gatwick to maintain safety. 164 flights will be canceled due to the epidemic.
The airport hopes the limits will help it avoid last-minute cancellations.
About a third of the ATC personal have been affected by illnesses, including COVID, according to NATS.
Are flights being canceled at Gatwick due to COVID?
On Monday, 50 flights – mostly with easyJet – to and from Gatwick were diverted or cancelled.
Some passengers had to travel for hours delayswhile around 8,000 people remained out of position.
The daily flight limit is in effect until October 1st. Friday will be the day hardest hit by the limits, with 65 fewer flights than expected. British Airways, easyJet and RyanAir will have to cancel some flights.
“This was a difficult decision, but the action we have taken allows our airlines to offer reliable flight schedules, which gives passengers greater certainty that they are not faced with last minute flights.” cancellations,” Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate said of the caps.
“We are working closely with NATS to strengthen resilience in the control tower and this decision means we can prevent as many disruptions as possible,” he added.
Gatwick advises passengers to check the status of their flights with their airline before travel.
Will further COVID outbreaks hit winter travel at Gatwick?
Air traffic control The NATS service has reassured passengers that its “operational resilience in the tower will improve as our staff return to work and we exit the summer hours, which are particularly busy at Gatwick”.
The company says it is continuing to train additional air traffic controllers and expects another group to qualify to work at the tower in the coming months.
“We will continue to recruit and train air traffic controllers to Gatwick as quickly as possible to ensure a return to a fully resilient operation as soon as possible,” he added in a statement.
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