Gatwick Airport suspends 165 flights due to Covid outbreak among air traffic control team

GATWICK Airport has canceled more than 150 flights for the rest of the week following a Covid outbreak among its staff.

The airport will be limited to just 800 return flights per day because nearly a third of its air traffic control team is sick.

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It will cause suffering to hundreds of passengers as 65 flights are to be canceled on Friday, 40 flights on Thursday and another 30 flights on Wednesday and Sunday.

Tuesday and Saturday were unaffected last night.

This comes after staff shortages at the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) had already led to 50 flights being canceled on Sunday and 80 flights on Monday.

Stewart Wingate, chief executive of London Gatwick, said: “This was a very difficult decision, but the measures we have taken today mean our airlines can operate reliable flight programs, giving passengers greater peace of mind that they will not be last “We have to expect cancellations every minute.”

“We are working closely with the Nats to strengthen the resilience of the control tower and this decision means we can prevent disruption as much as possible.

“London Gatwick would like to sincerely apologize to all passengers affected by these restrictions.”

Earlier this month, Gatwick was again forced to cancel 40 flights in one day at the last minute due to illness.

The cap on flights will remain in place until Sunday, October 1st.

It is the latest in a series of air traffic control incidents that have had devastating consequences for holidaymakers.