London Gatwick temporarily limits flight numbers to provide certainty to passengers following recent air traffic control issues
London Gatwick has today implemented a temporary limit on daily flight movements to prevent delays and last-minute cancellations for passengers.
The decision was made alongside NATS, who run the London Gatwick air traffic control tower, and means the airport will be limited to 800 flights a day. This means both departure and arrival flights. The restrictions start today and will remain in place until Sunday, 1 October.
The daily cap will prevent last-minute cancellations and delays for passengers while NATS work through challenges driven by sickness and staffing constraints.
Passengers are advised to check the status of their flights directly with their airlines, who we’ve been closely working with at this time.
Stewart Wingate, CEO of London Gatwick, 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.”
- Before the limit was put in place the movements expected for this week were as follows:
- Tuesday- 800 movements
- Weds – 829 movements
- Thursday – 840 movements
- Friday –865 movements
- Saturday – 800 movements
- Sunday – 830 movements
- 30% of NATS tower staff are currently unavailable for a variety of medical reasons including covid
