Gatwick travel misery for up to 25,000 passengers as airport bosses cull 164 flights for the rest of the week amid Covid breakout in control tower
- Gatwick bosses are cut the number of journeys to a daily limit of 800 flights
- Nearly a third of Nats staff unavailable for medical reasons including Covid
Up to 25,000 passengers using London Gatwick will have their flights cancelled this week after airport bosses cut 164 flights amid a Covid outbreak in air traffic control.
Bosses at the West Sussex hub said they will cut the number of journeys to a daily limit of 800 flights, affecting both departures and arrivals until at least Sunday.
Nearly a third of National Air Traffic Services (Nats) staff are said to be unavailable for a variety of medical reasons including Covid. It means there will be about 29 fewer flights tomorrow, 40 fewer on Thursday, 65 fewer on Friday and 30 fewer on Sunday.
The cap aims to prevent last-minute cancellations and delays for tens of thousands of passengers, who are being told to check with their airlines about their flights. It is thought that airlines will reveal cancellations on the afternoon before the flight day.
But the disruption is likely to cause huge issues for those using Gatwick – with an average load of 150 passengers per affected flight giving a total of around 25,000 passengers who will have their trip cancelled, according to The Independent.
Consumer group Which? blasted the ‘completely unreasonable’ issues as passengers pay ‘record amounts of money for flights they can no longer trust will go ahead’.
Passengers wait in a queue at Gatwick Airport yesterday ahead of further expected disruption
Passengers sit on the floor at London Gatwick Airport yesterday as they wait for flights
Passengers wait in a queue at Gatwick Airport yesterday ahead of further expected disruption
Passengers look at their phones at London Gatwick Airport yesterday as they wait for flights
Passengers wait for information at London Gatwick Airport on Sunday amid major disruption
Passengers flying with easyJet are expected to be worst hit by the cancellations, but those using British Airways, Ryanair, Tui, Vueling and Wizz Air could also be affected.
What are you rights if your flight is cancelled? Travel expert NICKY KELVIN reveals what airlines must provide
There has been a significant amount of disruption at London Gatwick Airport following a reported outbreak of Covid among airport staff in recent days.
With a number of flight cancellations and delays, it’s important that travellers check their flights – by checking airport arrival and departure boards online and your airline’s website to ensure that your flight is still proceeding as normal.
Keep an eye on your emails too, travellers are often given updates on cancellations here before anywhere else.
For an expert travel hack, I would recommend looking at Flight Radar 24 which allows you to track the exact aircraft that will be flying your route.
You’re then able to see where this plane is and whether it has made it out of its previous destination. Knowing this information will help you to determine whether you will be encountering any delays ahead of your trip.
If you’re delayed for more than two hours on a short-haul flight, airlines must provide you with support such as food and drink and reimbursement for phone calls. If you’re delayed overnight, they will provide you accommodation and transport to a hotel (or home).
Usually if you arrive at your destination more than three hours late you are entitled to compensation, however as this is an air traffic control issue and out of the airlines’ control, this type of compensation will not be payable.
If your flight has been cancelled, the airline should find you a new flight if you elect for that option. You can also request that the airline gives you a flight on a rival provider if there’s a flight available that’s earlier than your original airline can offer. You don’t have to travel with the same airline.
The issue with this situation is that all airlines have been affected by these issues so trying to fly with different airlines may also not be possible.
NICKY KELVIN is editor at The Points Guy. For more of his tips, click here
Gatwick boss Stewart Wingate described the move as ‘a difficult decision’, but said it was needed to create ‘reliable flight programmes’ due to the issues at Nats.
Mr Wingate said: ‘This has been a difficult decision but the action we have taken today means our airlines can fly reliable flight programmes, which gives passengers more certainty that they will not face last-minute cancellations.
‘We are working closely with Nats to build resilience in the control tower, and this decision means we can prevent as much disruptions as possible.
‘London Gatwick would like to apologise to any passengers who have been impacted by these restrictions.’
Nats apologised to passengers in a statement, but said that a variety of medical reasons means ‘we cannot manage the number of flights that were originally planned for this week’.
It said: ‘We have worked very closely with Gatwick airport throughout. Given the levels of sickness we have experienced over the last few weeks we believe it is the responsible thing to do to limit the number of flights this week in order to reduce the risk of daily disruption to passengers using the airport.’
Nats added: ‘Our operational resilience in the tower will improve as our staff return to work and we move out of the summer schedule, which is particularly busy at Gatwick.
‘We continue to train additional air traffic controllers and expect another group to qualify to work in the tower over coming months, ready for next summer.
‘Even an experienced air traffic controller takes at least nine months to qualify at Gatwick and very few are able to do so, as Gatwick is such a busy and complex air traffic environment.’
Airlines were affected when about 1,500 flights due to serve airports across the UK were cancelled and many others were delayed on August 28, which was a bank holiday and one of the busiest days of the year for travel.
An initial inquiry by Nats found the problem was caused by its system failing to process a flight plan correctly.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had announced an independent investigation into the wider issues surrounding the system failure.
Since then Gatwick passengers have faced chaos due to air traffic control staff sickness on three occasions over the past three weeks, with incidents affecting flights on Sunday, September 24; Thursday, September 14; and Wednesday, September 6/
Data from the FlightRadar24 tracking website revealed Gatwick had 26 arrivals and 23 departures cancelled on Sunday. There was also one arrival cancelled yesterday.
Johan Lundgren, the chief executive of easyJet, said: ‘While it is regrettable that a temporary limit on capacity at Gatwick Airport is required, we believe that it is the right action by the airport so on the day cancellations and delays can be avoided.
‘Gatwick Airport and Nats now need to work on a longer-term plan so the resilience of ATC (air traffic control) at Gatwick is improved and fit for purpose.
‘Our call for a more wide-ranging review of Nats remains so the broader issues can be examined so it can deliver robust services to passengers now and in the future.’
Full list of Gatwick flights cancelled on Sunday, September 24
ARRIVALS
- 2.05am: Tenerife (easyJet, U28038)
- 7.05am: Dalaman (WizzAir, W95710)
- 11.20am: Belfast (easyJet, U2824)
- 2.45pm: Bilbao (Vueling, VY6307)
- 3.20pm: Amsterdam (easyJet, U28677)
- 4.25pm: Geneva (easyJet, U28494)
- 5.35pm: Barcelona (Vueling, VY7824)
- 6.25pm: Naples (easyJet, U28342)
- 6.25pm: Nice (easyJet, U28424)
- 6.50pm: Glasgow (easyJet, U2864)
- 6.55pm: Paris Orly (Vueling, VY8944)
- 7.10pm: Berlin (easyJet, U28626)
- 7.30pm: Amsterdam (easyJet, U28683)
- 7.50pm: Belfast (easyJet, U2820)
- 7:55pm: Paris CDG (easyJet, U28456)
- 8.50pm: Edinburgh (easyJet, U26474)
- 9.35pm: Belfast (easyJet, U2832)
- 9.40pm: Basel (easyJet, U28484)
- 9.45pm: Amsterdam (easyJet, U28687)
- 10.00pm: La Rochelle (easyJet, U28452)
- 10:10pm: Paris CDG (easyJet, U28408)
- 10.15pm: Belfast (easyJet, U2804)
- 10.15pm: Geneva (easyJet, U28498)
- 10.20pm: Isle of Man (easyJet, U2844)
- 10.25pm: Nantes (easyJet, U28448)
- 10.45pm: Edinburgh (easyJet, U2816)
DEPARTURES
- 7.50am: Belfast (easyJet, U2823)
- 1.50pm: Nice (easyJet, U28423)
- 2.55pm: Heraklion (Tui, BY5794)
- 3.15pm: Glasgow (easyJet, U2863)
- 3.25pm: Bilbao (Vueling, VY6306)
- 3.55pm: Amsterdam (easyJet, U28688)
- 4.45pm: Edinburgh (easyJet, U26473)
- 5.00pm: Paris (easyJet, U28455)
- 5.00pm: Geneva (easyJet, U28505)
- 5.50pm: Basel (easyJet, U28483)
- 6.10pm: Belfast (easyJet, U2831)
- 6.20pm: Barcelona (Vueling, VY7825)
- 6.30pm: Geneva (easyJet, U28495)
- 6.35pm: Belfast (easyJet, U2803)
- 6.40pm: Amsterdam (easyJet, U28684)
- 7.05pm: Naples (easyJet, U28341)
- 7.05pm: Paris CDG (easyJet, U28409)
- 7.05pm: Nantes (easyJet, U28447)
- 7.15pm: Isle of Man (easyJet, U2843)
- 7.45pm: Berlin (easyJet, U28627)
- 7.45pm: Paris Orly (Vueling, VY8945)
- 8.05pm: Amsterdam (easyJet, U28686)
- 8.30pm: Belfast (easyJet, U2821)
A spokesman for the airline, which apologised for any inconvenience which was outside its control, said that affected passengers would be contacted as soon as possible and may be able to rebook or get a refund.
But Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said it was ‘completely unreasonable’ that passengers face yet more disruption.
He said: ‘While customers should be booked on alternate flights as soon as possible and given overnight accommodation when required, Which? has repeatedly documented that this duty of care is ignored by many airlines.
‘Consumers are paying record amounts of money for flights they can no longer trust will go ahead.
‘To help end this cycle of miserable passenger experiences, the Prime Minister must play his part and prioritise legislation to give the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) stronger enforcement powers in the King’s Speech later this year.’
EasyJet made up dozens of the flights affected on Sunday after a drop in the ‘flow rate’ of planes using the Gatwick runway, with some services delayed by up to seven hours.
The airline said that it was ‘extremely disappointed’ by the issues over the weekend which saw eight flights cancelled to and from Belfast , and others to or from Edinburgh , Geneva and Paris.
Among those left furious was consultant psychiatrist Daniel Wilkes, from Angus, whose flight from Gatwick to Edinburgh last night was cancelled after the scheduled departure time.
He told The Independent : ‘I just can’t believe the lack of contingency planning from Nats for staff sickness and that this is happening again.
‘Plus, airports and airlines have had quite a while to firm up their processes for cancellations, and yet always the poorly managed scrum ensues. Bizarrely, we were made to exit through border control. I didn’t even have my passport as it was a domestic flight.’
Dr Wilkes rebooked an easyJet flight this morning from London Stansted to Edinburgh, after travelling there in an Uber for £100 and spending £159 on a hotel at the Essex airport – which he hopes the airline will pay.
Others took to social media to complain of disruption, with one writing on X: ‘Hello @easyJet my flight back to London Gatwick from Amsterdam was cancelled and I am currently stranded in the airport and cannot get through to your customer services. Please can you help me.’
Another posted: ‘AI172 should have departed at 20:00 – whilst I can see the gate number online, my mum at the airport has been asked to wait by the screen in a very packed terminal, airport are blaming the airline but can’t be the case as ALL flights are delayed. Answers please?’.
And a third wrote: ‘@easyJet you have cancelled the 4pm Gatwick to Schiphol and didn’t complete confirmation for my rescheduled flight, booked through your shoddy app that crash’s. Now all flights full today. Your staff were useless in the airport refusing to help and I have to get home today.’
A fourth added: ‘@easyJet very unhappy this weekend. After a delay inc 25 mins on tarmac after landing at Gatwick on Friday, rtn flight today cancelled and only alternative landed 2+ hrs later. Which is now running 1+ hr late, including standing in an outdoor holding area for 30+ mins.’
Source: Read Full Article
