Gatwick flights chaos ’caused by a sickie’: Air traffic control ‘was down to TWO people a
Gatwick‘s air traffic control was down to two staff members after a third person called in sick yesterday sparking flight chaos, a travel expert has said.
As a result the airport’s arrival flow had to be reduced, causing flights from Gatwick to be delayed, cancelled or diverted to airports all over the country including Stansted, Luton, Cardiff and Bournemouth. Some were even sent to Brussels.
It sparked ‘manic’ queues up to two hours to clear security and passport control in Stansted following what the airport called ‘problems at Gatwick’ that caused some passengers to sleep on the airport floor.
Those travellers flying out of Gatwick continue to face large delays to flights while flights were rerouted out of Stansted as the disruption rumbled on.
Speaking on GB News travel journalist Simon Calder said: ‘I can tell you exactly what happened. They have three people working in the control tower at Gatwick – bear in mind this looks after one of the busiest runways in the world – yesterday one of them went sick.
In Stansted, passengers have complained of enormous queues to get through security and passport control
Dozens of flights are delayed at Gatwick airport this morning following air traffic control issues
‘Personally I would always want those workers in such a safety critical job to always be 100 per cent they should not continue to work but with two instead of three people they had to reduce the arrival flow rate.
‘This meant that planes were just disappearing all over the place going to Bournemouth, Stansted to Luton to Brussels. Many flights were cancelled, EasyJet alone I calculate cancelled 16 flights, so it is a real, real mess.’
The National Air Traffic Services (Nats) also confirmed the restrictions were put in place.
Stansted did not confirm the reason for the queues as they continued this morning but some passengers claiming they had been told it was due to a ‘computer backup’ and ‘problems at Gatwick’.
This meant dozens of arrivals and departures were affected, with passengers being advised to contact their airline prior to travelling.
Travellers were forced to bed down for the night on the floor of Gatwick airport
Holidaymaker Caroline Monks fears she will now lose her holiday due to the cancellations
Sarah Burham (right) was forced to sleep in the airport overnight due to flight cancellations
Furious Gatwick passengers have complained about the issues on social media
Gatwick chaos continued this morning due to several technical issues, which caused dozens of flights to be delayed.
Holidaymakers claim that they have had minimal information from airlines and were left to fend for themselves in the empty terminals last night after hotels were booked up.
‘Our whole holiday could be cancelled’, she said. ‘We’d be losing our whole holiday if we can’t get another flight.’
Debbie Barrett agreed, adding that it was ‘disgusting’ the way passengers had been treated.
Sarah Burnham said: ‘We couldn’t find anywhere to sleep so we decided just to stay here.’
The air traffic control situation not only meant that some flights couldn’t take off from Gatwick but that many couldn’t land.
This meant that tired travelers set to touch down at the airport were diverted to sites across the country with one flight being diverted to Brussels whilst over the English Channel.
Sally Richards was on the diverted flight and said: ‘Just as we were crossing the Channel we were told they had received a message saying Gatwick was closed and they had no idea why.
‘We’ve got back to Britain and it feels like Britain is simply not working.’
One holidaymaker wrote on X that travellers had ‘standing outside in the cold for the last hour waiting on a coach for a Ryanair flight in Stansted’.
Another complained of long queues at the Border Force checkpoint in the south terminal.
One passenger even claimed that a flight had been diverted to Bournemouth airport, which is more than 100 miles away from Gatwick.
‘We apologise very sincerely to people who have been inconvenienced [as a result of unavoidable diversions]’ a Nats spokesperson said in a statement.
‘We are working closely with Gatwick Airport Ltd to build resilience in the airport’s control tower to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.’
Nats has been recruiting air traffic controllers since last summer and has increased its presence by 17 per cent, the agency claimed.
Other workers are due to start after completing their training, in line with the agreed plan when the agency took over the contract last October.
Dozens of arrivals and departures were affected, with passengers being advised to contact their airline prior to travelling
Travellers faced widespread disruption last month after the air traffic control system was hit by a technical glitch
More than a quarter of flights to and from UK airports were cancelled that day, affecting around 250,000 people
‘London Gatwick’s senior management understands that we are working hard to keep the operation moving,’ the spokesperson added.
‘Airlines operating at London Gatwick were aware of the situation when Nats was appointed but that does not dilute the apology we offer sincerely to them and their passengers who have been inconvenienced by recent disruption.’
Gatwick has apologised for the situation, adding in a statement: ‘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.’
Travellers faced widespread disruption last month after the air traffic control system was hit by a technical glitch on August 28. More than a quarter of flights to and from UK airports were cancelled that day, affecting around 250,000 people.
Cancellations continued for two more days as planes and crews were out of position.
The continued cancellations and long delays this summer has led airline chiefs to slam Nats for ‘let(ting) down customers all summer’.
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said: ‘Persistent staff shortages at Nats have plagued the industry and repeatedly let down customers all summer, having caused more than a month’s worth of disruption.
‘This cannot be allowed to continue. Immediate action must be taken to fix the staffing shortages now while a more wide-ranging review examines broader issues to ensure Nats delivers robust services to passengers now and in the future.’
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary told the BBC: ‘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.
Cancellations continued for two more days as planes and crews were out of position
‘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.’
Rory Boland, of consumer group Which?, said: ‘It is unacceptable that some Gatwick passengers have been hit by further air traffic control problems so soon after the chaos a few weeks ago.
‘This is not an issue caused by airlines, but they must meet their legal obligations to look after passengers and provide them with support during delays and help with refunds and rerouting – including with other carriers if necessary.
‘To help end this cycle of miserable passenger experiences, the Prime Minister must play his part and prioritise legislation to give the CAA stronger enforcement powers in the King’s Speech later this year.’
Nats said in a statement: ‘We are working closely with Gatwick Airport Ltd to build resilience in the airport’s control tower to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.
‘New air traffic controllers have been recruited since last summer, increasing our presence by 17%, and others are due to start after completing their training, in line with the agreed plan when Nats took over the contract last October.’