Flights have been cancelled, delayed and rerouted at Gatwick due to short-notice staff absences in the air traffic control team, the airport has said.
The transport hub in West Sussex has apologised to those affected by the temporary air traffic control restrictions enforced on Thursday evening which led to 22 flights being cancelled.
Passengers wrote on social media that their flights had been diverted to other UK airports including Bournemouth, London Stansted and Heathrow.
The staff absences are from Nats, formerly National Air Traffic Services, which provide en route air traffic control services to flights.
A London Gatwick spokesperson said: “Due to a short-notice staff absence in the air traffic control tower, temporary air traffic control restrictions have been put in place this evening. This will cause some delays.
“London Gatwick would like to apologise to any passengers who have been impacted by these restrictions. Please contact your airline for more information.
“Nats are a world-class provider of air traffic services and London Gatwick’s senior management recognises how hard the airport’s air traffic controllers are working to keep the operation moving.
“We are working closely with Nats to build resilience in the airport’s control tower to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.”
The airport later added: “The situation is improving with an additional air traffic controller now in place.
“The air traffic control restrictions are reducing as a consequence and more aircraft are able to arrive and depart.”
New air traffic controllers are understood to have been recruited since last summer and others are due to start after completing their training in line with the agreed plan when Nats took over the contract last October.
In a statement, Nats said: “We are working closely with the airport to ensure we can handle flights with as little disruption as possible and we apologise very sincerely to people who have been inconvenienced.
It added: “London Gatwick’s senior management understands that we are working hard to keep the operation moving.
“Airlines operating at London Gatwick were aware of the situation when Nats was appointed but that does not dilute the apology we offer sincerely to them and their passengers who have been inconvenienced by recent disruption.”
One affected passenger wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Currently on the runway at Athens airport delayed due to air traffic control restrictions at your airport. (This is what easyJet are telling us!) I will miss my train connection.”
Another wrote: “It’s now four hours later and our flight from Samos has been diverted to Bournemouth.”
In a message on X in response to a customer, Gatwick said it had not been informed of any further delays on Friday.
Rory Boland, of consumer group Which?, said: “It is unacceptable that some Gatwick passengers have been hit by further air traffic control problems so soon after the chaos a few weeks ago.
“This is not an issue caused by airlines, but they must meet their legal obligations to look after passengers and provide them with support during delays and help with refunds and rerouting – including with other carriers if necessary.
“To help end this cycle of miserable passenger experiences, the prime minister must play his part and prioritise legislation to give the CAA stronger enforcement powers in the king’s speech later this year.”
Last month, figures showed passenger numbers at Gatwick soared to 19 million during the first six months of the year, although air traffic control strikes across Europe contributed to an increase in delays.
Demand for travel resulted in 41% more passengers travelling through the airport between January and June compared with 2022 – when Covid restrictions were still in place – Gatwick said.
On 28 August, more than 2,000 flights were cancelled due to a UK air traffic system failure.
The Civil Aviation Authority has opened an inquiry into the meltdown that caused chaos for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The technical report from Nats confirmed that a single flight plan with confusing data brought its bespoke software system to a halt.
