More than 40 flights have been cancelled, delayed or diverted due to a lack of air traffic control staff (ATC) at Gatwick Airport impacting thousands of airline passengers.
The airport confirmed a short-notice staff absence in its ATC tower, managed by National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which meant 42 flights were cancelled or diverted while dozens more were heavily delayed on Thursday (September 14).
More than 6,000 passengers are said to have been affected by the cancellations.
What happens if you miss your flight due to airport delays
It comes just over two weeks after a Nats technical glitch caused widespread disruption at airports across the UK on the August Bank Holiday weekend which left thousands of holidaymakers stranded overseas for several days.
In that instance, more than a quarter of flights to and from UK airports were cancelled on Monday, August 28, affecting around 250,000 people.
Cancellations continued for two more days as planes and crews were out of position.
A week later, the airport was subjected to a restriction in the number of planes that could take off and land because of “short notice sickness”.
42 flights cancelled, delayed or diverted from Gatwick Airport
PA news agency analysis of flight tracking data shows the first departure cancelled due to air traffic control restrictions was an easyJet flight to Berlin, due to take off at 5pm on Thursday (September 14).
It found 14 departures and 12 arrivals were cancelled at Gatwick on Thursday from that time.
The first diverted arrival was a British Airways flight from Faro, Portugal which was due to touch down at 3.35pm, but landed at Cardiff Airport instead.
A total of 16 arrivals were diverted to a range of airports: including Bournemouth, Cardiff, Heathrow, Luton and Stansted.
Gatwick Airport later said an additional air traffic controller was put in place and restrictions were beginning to reduce, allowing more aircraft to arrive and depart.
NATS repeats apology for disruption to passengers, airlines and airports as preliminary investigation report is published. Report confirms that safety was maintained throughout and that a solution has been implemented to avoid any possible recurrence -https://t.co/lTzmjv09Ei
— NATS (@NATS) September 6, 2023
Gatwick airport apologised to the thousands of affected passengers, urging them to contact their airlines for further information.
The spokesperson added: “Nats are a world-class provider of air traffic services and London Gatwick’s senior management recognises how hard the airport’s air traffic controllers are working to keep the operation moving.
“We are working closely with Nats to build resilience in the airport’s control tower to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.”
Airlines "very disappointed" as customers "once again impacted" by disruptions to flights
Major airlines including Ryanair and easyjet have said they were "very disappointed" their customers had been affected again.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are very disappointed that customers are once again impacted by this and while this is outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers.
“We are doing all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption, notifying those on cancelled flights of options to rebook or receive a refund and provided hotel accommodation and meals where required.”
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary called on Nats chief executive to resign.
Mr O’Leary said: “It is unacceptable that more flights and hundreds of passengers are suffering delays to/from Gatwick Airport due to Nats CEO Martin Rolfe’s blatant failure to adequately staff UK ATC.
“Airlines are paying millions of pounds to Nats each and every year and should not have to see their passengers suffer avoidable delays due to UK ATC staff shortages.”
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership – a network of independent travel agents, said: “The situation at Gatwick is unacceptable.
"This kind of disruption causes havoc for travellers and has huge financial implications for airlines, travel agents and the entire ecosystem.
“There needs to be an urgent inquiry into why there appears to be staff shortages in this crucial area, and measures implemented to stop these incidents occurring again.”
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