Flight chaos at Gatwick as air-traffic control staff shortage hits airport again

At least 100 flights to and from London Gatwick have been cancelled by the latest bout of staff shortage in the airport’s control tower – disrupting the travel plans of 15,000 passengers and costing airlines millions of pounds.

According to Nats, the air-traffic control provider that runs the tower, temporary air traffic restrictions are currently in place at the airport “in order to maintain safety”.

EasyJet, which has its main base at London Gatwick, incurred around two-thirds of the cancellations. At least 64 easyJet arrivals and departures have been grounded on one of the busiest and most lucrative days of the summer.

A Nats spokesperson said: “These restrictions are due to short-notice staff absence at the air traffic control tower and in addition to existing restrictions already in place due to adverse weather across UK and Europe.

“We apologise sincerely for the inconvenience and are working closely with the airport and airlines to try and keep disruption to a minimum.”

Four round-trips between Gatwick and Amsterdam are axed, along with two return journeys to each of Faro, Paris, Geneva and Belfast.

Key easyJet holiday flights to and from Heraklion in Crete, Naples and Lisbon are also cancelled.

The mass cancellations are a repeat of problems suffered at the Sussex airport a year ago and in June 2024.

A spokesperson for easyJet said: “Nats air-traffic control staffing shortages at Gatwick led to a significantly reduced flow rate being imposed on all airlines today which is resulting in flights to and from Gatwick airport being subject to disruption including some cancellations.

“We are extremely disappointed that customers are once again being impacted by this and while this is outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused.

“We are doing all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption and have notified those on cancelled flights of their options to rebook or receive a refund and are providing hotel accommodation and meals where required.”

British Airways grounded its evening flights to and from Bordeaux and Jersey on top of previous cancellations unrelated to the air-traffic control issues.

BA’s sister airline, Vueling, cancelled 16 flights, mainly serving Spain. Norwegian axed its flights linking Gatwick with Bergen, Copenhagen and Stavanger.

Wizz Air grounded flights serving Vienna and Venice.

In addition, Turkish Airlines cancelled its evening operation to and from Istanbul, TAP Portugal axed a Porto service and Helvetic grounded its Zurich flights.

A spokesperson for Gatwick said: “Due to short-notice absence in the air-traffic control tower, temporary restrictions have been put in place today, in addition to existing restrictions in place due to adverse weather across UK and Europe. These may result in some delays and cancellations.

“London Gatwick apologises to any passengers impacted by these restrictions. Please contact your airline for more information.”

Under air passengers’ rights rules, stranded travellers are entitled to hotel rooms and meals, as well as onward flights as soon as possible on any airline that has seats available.

Airlines are likely to incur financial losses running into millions: they must meet the costs for passengers stranded overnight, find space for them on other flights and lose revenue from passengers who abandon their journeys.

Earlier, British Airways cancelled dozens of flights at Heathrow. The cause is not known. Since Friday, at least 300 flights to and from Heathrow and Gatwick – the two busiest airports in the UK – have been cancelled.