London’s second-busiest Gatwick Airport limits flight operations due to Covid outbreak
Gatwick Airport
Staff shortage caused by a Covid outbreak has forced London’s second-busiest Gatwick Airport to cancel scores of flights and limit operations till Sunday.
Around 30 per cent of the staff of air traffic control is not working as they are down with Covid infection.
In a statement late Monday, the airport said a daily 800-flight limit, including both arrivals and departures, has been imposed until Sunday.
It said the daily cap will prevent last-minute cancellations and delays for passengers while National Air Traffic Services (NATS) gets back to normal.
The airport’s chief executive, Stewart Wingate, said the decision “means we can prevent as much disruptions as possible.”
Passengers affected
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“The reason that we are doing this is to provide as much certainty as we can, not only to the airlines but most importantly to the passengers who will travel this week, that the flights that remain scheduled will actually operate," Wingate said.
Around 33 departure flights stand cancelled—the largest ever—for Friday (Sept 29), it added.
NATS issued an apology to passengers saying that the decision was taken due to a variety of medical reasons and that it can't manage the normal flows in and out of the airport.
Among the affected airlines include Easyjet, BA and Ryanair
Airline operators seek improvement
Johan Lundgren, chief executive officer of EasyJet said that it is "regrettable that a temporary limit on capacity at Gatwick Airport is required".
It is “the right action by the airport so on-the-day cancellations and delays can be avoided”, he said, adding that Gatwick Airport needs to work on a longer-term plan to improve the resilience of the air traffic service.
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Though the COVID-19-related restrictions in Britain were lifted last year, people are advised to stay away from work if they have tested positive for the virus.
It comes weeks after NATS witnessed a massive data glitch, triggering widespread disruption of airlines and leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
The British aviation regulator is yet to launch a probe to determine why the country's air traffic control system suddenly collapsed.
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