This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
THOUSANDS of airline passengers have been affected by cancelled, delayed or diverted flights due to a lack of air traffic control staff (ATC) at Gatwick airport.
The airport confirmed a short notice staff absence in its ATC tower, managed by National Air Traffic Services (Nats), on Thursday.
This caused 42 flights to be cancelled or diverted while dozens more were heavily delayed.
More than 6,000 passengers are likely to have been affected by cancellations.
It comes just over two weeks after a Nats technical glitch caused widespread disruption at airports across Britain, leaving thousands of holidaymakers stranded overseas for several days.
Nats said it is “working in line” with a staffing plan agreed with Gatwick bosses when it took over the provision of ATC services in October 2022, which includes training further controllers.
It said it can take up to a year for qualified controllers to complete the “specific training” required to work at an airport control tower.
