London Gatwick Airport Forced to Cut Flights Because of Staff Illnesses

The second-busiest airport in London is cutting this week’s flight schedule due to sickness and staffing constraints among the U.K.’s air traffic controllers (NATS).

London Gatwick will limit its daily flights to around 800 or so each day through Sunday this week due to 30% of NATS tower stuff “currently unavailable for a variety of medical reasons including COVID,” it said on Monday.

Gatwick said it was working with NATS to build resilience in the control tower” and the decision to cut flights was made in order to prevent “as many disruptions as possible.”

“This has been a difficult decision but the action we have taken today means our airlines can fly reliable flight programs, which gives passengers more certainty that they will not face last-minute cancellations,” Stewart Wingate, CEO of London Gatwick, said this week.

The limit will cause about 170 flights to be canceled at Gatwick this week. The airport is alerting all travelers to check the status of their flight directly with the airline before heading to the airport.