Gatwick chaos erupts again as air traffic control puts blame on Covid for lack of staff

Gatwick will cancel another 82 departures over the coming week because of the short-term sickness.

The largest number of cancellations are expected to be on Friday 29 September, with 33 departures affected.

WATCH NOW: Simon Calder explains Gatwick delays

Easyjet will be the most affected, with BA and Ryanair also among those asked to cancel flights.

Data released by FlightRadar24 shows the Sussex hub had 26 arrivals and 23 departures yesterday.

EasyJet were able to make up dozens of flights although many were delayed by several hours.

National Air Traffic Services (Nats) based in Fareham, Hampshire, said the disruption was caused by “short-notice staff sickness including some incidences of Covid”.

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EasyJet said they were “extremely disappointed” by the delays which saw eight flights to and from Belfast cancelled, and others to and from Edinburgh, Geneva and Paris.

“I just can't believe the lack of contingency planning from Nats for staff sickness and that this is happening again,” one passenger who had their flight cancelled in the chaos told the Independent.

“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.”

Gatwick has faced a number of delays due to air traffic control sicknesses this month.

On both 14 September and 6 September, air traffic controllers faced shortages due to sickness while at the end of August, a technical glitch caused widespread disruption at all UK airports.

The glitch left thousands of holidaymakers stranded and forced the UK Civil Aviation Authority to launch an independent review into the issue.

According to Nats the glitch was caused by an anomaly that forced the system to stop processing flight plans.

The system then closed to maintain the safety of passengers.

Rob Bishton, Joint-Interim Chief Executive at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Millions of passengers every year rely on air traffic control to work smoothly and safely.

“The initial report by NATS raises several important questions and as the regulator we want to make sure these are answered for passengers and industry.

“If there is evidence to suggest NATS may have breached its statutory and licensing obligations we will consider whether any further action is necessary.”