Thousands of holidaymakers have been affected by travel chaos at Gatwick Airport as an air-traffic control staff shortage sees at least 100 flights cancelled.
According to Nats, the air-traffic control provider that runs the tower, temporary air traffic restrictions are currently in place at the airport ‘in order to maintain safety’.
This is expected to cost airlines millions of pounds and lead to more than 15,000 passengers having their travel plans disrupted.
At least 64 easyJet arrivals and departures have been grounded at the Sussex airport on one of the busiest and most lucrative days of the summer.
The mass cancellations are a repeat of problems suffered at the same airport a year ago and in June 2024.
A Nats spokesperson apologised for ‘the inconvenience caused’ but gave no indication as to when the disruption would end.
In a statement, the spokesperson said: ‘NATS air traffic control staffing shortages at Gatwick has led to a significantly reduced flow rate being imposed on all airlines today which is resulting in flights to and from Gatwick Airport being subject to disruption including some cancellations.
‘This has been further exacerbated by air traffic control restrictions due to adverse weather in Europe.
‘We are extremely disappointed that customers are once again being impacted by this and while this is outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers.
‘We are doing all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption and have notified those on cancelled flights of their options to rebook or receive a refund and are providing hotel accommodation and meals where required.’
A Brit set to fly to London Gatwick this evening from Nantes in Brittany, France, revealed the travel chaos to .
The holidaymaker had to shell out an extra £130 on top of his original £110 flight – which he has applied to get a refund for.
He said: ‘It’s an absolute nightmare. I’m meant to be at work tomorrow and now I might have to take an extra day’s annual leave.
‘I’d already started making my way to the airport when EasyJet said the flight was delayed. I can’t get a refund on my train and I’m out of pocket more than £240 now.
‘EasyJet also said there weren’t enough air traffic controllers because of illness. Then finally they cancelled the flight because of bad weather in London.
‘The flight wasn’t due to leave until 9pm this evening and of course there was no number to call from EasyJet.
‘It’s not like the thunderstorms were a surprise, it’s just so annoying.
‘If they made it easy to sort an alternative it would be better but now I’ve had to shell out another £130 to get a flight from a different airport tomorrow evening.’
Four EasyJet round-trips between Gatwick and Amsterdam have been axed, along with two return journeys to each of Faro, Paris, Geneva and Belfast.
Key easyJet holiday flights to and from Heraklion in Crete, Naples and Lisbon are also cancelled.
A spokesperson for easyJet said: ‘Nats air-traffic control staffing shortages at Gatwick led to a significantly reduced flow rate being imposed on all airlines today which is resulting in flights to and from Gatwick airport being subject to disruption including some cancellations.
‘We are extremely disappointed that customers are once again being impacted by this and while this is outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused.
‘We are doing all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption and have notified those on cancelled flights of their options to rebook or receive a refund and are providing hotel accommodation and meals where required.’
British Airways grounded its evening flights to and from Bordeaux and Jersey, while its sister airline, Vueling, cancelled 16 flights,.
Wizz Air grounded flights serving Vienna and Venice.
A spokesperson for Gatwick said: ‘Due to short-notice absence in the air-traffic control tower, temporary restrictions have been put in place today, in addition to existing restrictions in place due to adverse weather across UK and Europe. These may result in some delays and cancellations.
‘London Gatwick apologises to any passengers impacted by these restrictions. Please contact your airline for more information.’