Gatwick airport has extended its temporary cap on daily flight numbers until the middle of October, as it continues to work through issues caused by air traffic control staff absences.
On 25 September the airport imposed a limit of 800 daily departing and arriving flights, which had originally been due to last until Sunday 1 October.
At the time Gatwick said the decision had been made alongside NATS, which operates the airport’s air traffic control tower, with 30 per cent of tower staff “currently unavailable for a variety of medical reasons including Covid”.
The airport has now confirmed that following discussions with NATS and airlines, the cap will remain in place until 15 October “as a precautionary measure”.
In a statement provided to Business Traveller, a spokesperson for Gatwick said:
“The limit will be kept under review while we continue to work with NATS on their staffing challenges.
“The limit has been extended for a further two weeks to prevent delays and last-minute cancellations for passengers. As the overall flight schedule has reduced now the summer season is coming to an end, on many days there will be no impact on our operation.
“Passengers are advised to check the status of their flights with their airlines. We would like to apologise for the continued disruption and to the passengers who have been impacted by the restrictions.”