Gatwick Airport Implements Flight Caps After Illness Affects Air Traffic Control Staff

London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) has been forced to cap flights until Sunday due to staff shortages caused by illnesses. Around 30% of the airport’s air traffic control staff is currently unable to work due to various medical reasons, including covid, resulting in a significant number of flight cancellations. To minimize further disruptions, Gatwick has implemented a strict daily flight cap, limiting takeoffs and landings to 800 per day. It is estimated that approximately 164 flights will be affected during this period, causing potential delays and inconveniences for tens of thousands of passengers. EasyJet, the largest operator at Gatwick, is among the airlines experiencing the greatest impact, along with British Airways and Ryanair. This occurrence follows a recent disruption caused by technical issues at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the air traffic control service provider. NATS spokesperson commented on the flight caps, stating that the decision to limit flights was made to reduce the risk of daily disruptions and the inability to manage the originally planned number of flights due to the unavailability of 30% of tower staff for various medical reasons, including covid. Gatwick CEO, Stewart Wingate, expressed the airport’s commitment to working with NATS to improve control tower resilience, and apologized to affected passengers for the restrictions. While these restrictions are necessary to prevent last-minute disruptions, they have prompted discussions about conducting a broader review of NATS and granting stronger enforcement powers to the Civil Aviation Authority to safeguard passengers from future incidents.

Source: Gatwick Airport caps flights after illnesses affect a third of ATC staff