Gatwick flights cancelled - latest: Calls for air traffic control chief to quit as Covid disruption continues
Nats chief has taken ‘no action’ to resolve air-traffic control staff shortages, Ryanair said
FrankLin
Nats chief has taken ‘no action’ to resolve air-traffic control staff shortages, Ryanair said
Simon Calder says Gatwick Airport flight cancellations due to Covid causing staff shortages
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Ryanair has demanded the chief executive of air traffic control provider Nats “step down” over Covid-related staff shortages that have caused widespread disruption.
Staff sickness in the control tower meant the “flow rate” of flights using the world’s busiest runway was reduced. Fifty flights to and from Gatwick Airport were cancelled or diverted, while many other services were delayed by up to seven hours.
An estimated 8,000 passengers were left out of position, with eight flights grounded between Gatwick and Belfast – six to and from the Northern Ireland capital’s International airport, and two serving Belfast City.
“It is the most basic requirement to hire and train adequate staff numbers including standby coverage,” a statement from Ryanair read, adding that it pays Nats almost €100m (£87m) annually for air-traffic control services.
“It is clear that Nats CEO, Martin Rolfe, has taken no action to resolve these air-traffic control staff shortages and should now do the right thing and step down as Nats CEO so that someone competent can do the job. We call on the CAA to immediately intervene and protect passengers from this ongoing UK air-traffic control shambles.”
Have you been affected by cancellations? Email alexander.butler@independent.co.uk
Calls for air traffic control chief to quit as Covid disruption continues
Ryanair has demanded the chief executive of air traffic control provider Nats “step down” over Covid-related staff shortages that have caused widespread disruption.
“It is the most basic requirement to hire and train adequate staff numbers including standby coverage,” a statement from Ryanair read, adding that it pays Nats almost €100m (£87m) annually for air-traffic control services.
“Nats has been a shambles for years, causing unnecessary disruptions at UK airports including Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester, and now Gatwick airport for the past four weeks, including the complete system meltdown on Monday 28 August, which brought UK aviation to its knees – a mess that has still not been explained.
“It is clear that Nats CEO, Martin Rolfe, has taken no action to resolve these air-traffic control staff shortages and should now do the right thing and step down as Nats CEO so that someone competent can do the job. We call on the CAA to immediately intervene and protect passengers from this ongoing UK air-traffic control shambles.”
In a statement, Nats said: “We have worked very closely with Gatwick airport throughout. Given the levels of sickness we have experienced over the last few weeks we believe it is the responsible thing to do to limit the number of flights this week in order to reduce the risk of daily disruption to passengers using the airport.
“We have trained as many air traffic controllers as possible this year in the Gatwick tower and have safely managed over 180,000 flights so far. However, with 30 per cent of tower staff unavailable for a variety of medical reasons including Covid, we cannot manage the number of flights that were originally planned for this week.”
(PA Wire)
Eleanor Noyce26 September 2023 15:50
30 per cent of Gatwick NATS tower staff unavailable for ‘variety of medical reasons’ including Covid
30 per cent of NATS tower staff at Gatwick are currently unavailable for a “variety of medical reasons” including Covid, the airport has said.
On Monday, Gatwick limited flights to 800 per day until Sunday 1 October in an effort to prevent last-minute cancellations and delays “whilst NATS work through challenges driven by sickness and staffing constraints.”
Before the cap was put in place, the movements anticipated for the week were as follows:
Tuesday - 800
Wednesday - 829
Thursday - 840
Friday - 865
Saturday - 800
Sunday - 830.
“This has been a difficult decision but the action we have taken means our airlines can fly reliable flight programmes, which gives passengers more certainty that they will not face last minute cancellations”, Stewart Wingate, CEO of London Gatwick, said.
“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.”
(PA Archive)
Eleanor Noyce26 September 2023 15:42
Passenger ‘can’t believe’ lack of planning
Daniel Wilkes, a consultant psychiatrist from Angus, was booked on the 7.15pm flight from Gatwick to Edinburgh last night. It was cancelled at 8.40pm.
He told The Independent: “I just can’t believe the lack of contingency planning from Nats for staff sickness and that this is happening again.
“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.”
Eleanor Noyce26 September 2023 15:22
easyJet apologises for disruption to Gatwick Airport flights
EasyJet has apologised for the disruption to flights at Gatwick Airport despite the issue being “outside of our control.”
It has urged that it will contact customers whose flight is cancelled, advising them not to travel to the airport but to transfer their flights free of charge.
“We have been advised that Gatwick Airport are temporarily requiring all airlines to reduce the number of flights they operate due to a shortage of staff in the NATS air traffic control tower”, a statement posted on the easyJet website read.
“We expect that there may be delays and some disruption due to the staff shortages, therefore we advise all customers to check the status of their flight on our Flight Tracker.
“While this is outside of our control we are sorry for the inconvenience caused. We understand this situation is extremely frustrating. We have made it clear to NATS, the airport’s air traffic control provider, that the ongoing staff shortages are completely unacceptable and must be urgently tackled and fixed. In the meantime, we will do everything we can to support customers whose plans have been affected.”
(PA Archive)
Eleanor Noyce26 September 2023 14:55
Gatwick flight cancellations to last all week as Covid causes staff shortages
Gatwick Airport is forcing airlines to cancel dozens of flights for the rest of the week because of staff shortages in air-traffic control blamed on Covid.
The airport is imposing a daily cap on the number of flights until Sunday – a move that will see tens of thousands of passengers delayed, cancelled or diverted to other airports.
More here:
Eleanor Noyce26 September 2023 14:41
What’s the problem at Gatwick Airport and which flights will be cancelled?
In an unprecedented move, Gatwick Airport has ordered airlines to cancel dozens of flights because of sickness among air-traffic controllers – which is currently running at 30 per cent of the available staff.
Aircraft movements will be capped at 800 per day at the Sussex airport, which normally has the busiest runway in the world.
Simon Calder explains:
Eleanor Noyce26 September 2023 14:25
Ryanair promises ‘no flight cancellations’ from Gatwick airport and calls on Nats boss to quit
Europe’s biggest budget airline, Ryanair, has said it will not cancel any flights as a result of the cap on numbers of arrivals and departures at Gatwick airport.
The carrier has a relatively small presence at the Sussex airport, with no aircraft based there. The main operation is between Gatwick and Dublin.
In an angry statement, Ryanair said it pays the air-navigation provider, Nats, almost €100m (£87m) annually for air-traffic control services.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “It is the most basic requirement to hire and train adequate staff numbers including standby coverage.
Simon Calder reports:
Eleanor Noyce26 September 2023 14:05
Simon Calder says Gatwick Airport flight cancellations due to Covid causing staff shortages
Simon Calder says Gatwick Airport flight cancellations due to Covid causing staff shortages
Alexander Butler26 September 2023 13:45
Ryanair promises ‘no cancellations’ from Gatwick
Europe’s biggest budget airline, Ryanair, has said it will not cancel any flights as a result of the cap on numbers of arrivals and departures at Gatwick airport.
The carrier has a relatively small presence at the Sussex airport, with no aircraft based there. The main operation is between Gatwick and Dublin.
In an angry statement, Ryanair said it pays the air-navigation provider, Nats, almost €100m (£87m) annually for air-traffic control services.
Ryanair said it will not cancel any flights as a result of the cap on numbers of arrivals and departures at Gatwick airport
(PA Wire)
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “It is the most basic requirement to hire and train adequate staff numbers including standby coverage. Nats has been a shambles for years, causing unnecessary disruptions at UK airports including Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester, and now Gatwick airport for the past four weeks including the complete system meltdown on Monday 28 August, which brought UK aviation to its knees – a mess that has still not been explained.
“It is clear that Natc CEO, Martin Rolfe has taken no action to resolve these air-traffic control staff shortages and should now do the right thing and step down as Nats CEO so that someone competent can do the job. We call on the CAA to immediately intervene and protect passengers from this ongoing UK air-traffic control shambles.”
Alexander Butler26 September 2023 13:30
Thirty per cent of Gatwick air traffic controllers off sick
Currently 30 per cent of air-traffic controllers who are qualified to work in the control tower at Gatwick are off sick, some with Covid, reports suggest.
Simon Calder26 September 2023 13:15
