Passengers flying to and from Gatwick Airport will face more delays this week after the airport revealed it would be limiting the number of journeys due to staff illness.

A daily 800-flight limit, affecting both departures and arrivals, has been imposed from Monday (September 25) and will run until Sunday (October 1).

The cap has been put in place as 30% of Nats (National Air Traffic Services) tower staff are unavailable due to a variety of medical reasons, including Covid.

London's Gatwick Airport chief executive Stewart Wingate described the move as “a difficult decision”, but said it was needed to create “reliable flight programmes”.

Ilkley Gazette: See how many flights at set to be affected by this daily limit.See how many flights at set to be affected by this daily limit. (Image: PA)

Flight limit at Gatwick Airport - how it will impact passengers

The daily 800-flight limit will be in place at Gatwick Airport until Sunday (October 1) and will see a significantly reduced schedule throughout the week. 

The cap will mean there are:

  • 29 fewer flights on Wednesday
  • 40 fewer on Thursday
  • 65 fewer on Friday
  • 30 fewer on Sunday

The daily cap is to prevent last-minute cancellations and delays for passengers, the Airport said.

Passengers are being urged to check with their airlines about their flights to see if they are affected by the daily limit.

What happens if you miss your flight due to airport delays?

London Gatwick’s chief executive Mr Wingate said: “This has been a difficult decision but the action we have taken today means our airlines can fly reliable flight programmes, which gives passengers more certainty that they will not face last-minute cancellations.

“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.”

Some airlines have begun contacting passengers affected by the disruptions.

A spokesman for easyJet, which apologised for any inconvenience which was outside its control, said that affected passengers would be contacted as soon as possible and may be able to rebook or get a refund.

Chief executive of easyJet, Johan Lundgren, said: “While it is regrettable that a temporary limit on capacity at Gatwick Airport is required, we believe that it is the right action by the airport so on the day cancellations and delays can be avoided."

Nats apologises for daily flight limit at Gatwick Airport

Nats apologised to passengers in a statement, but said the medical issues they were having meant “we cannot manage the number of flights that were originally planned for this week”.

In the 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.”

Fourth disruption caused by Nats in a month

This is the latest in a line of disruptions caused by Nats in the past month. 

Ilkley Gazette: A Nats technical glitch caused widespread disruptions across the UK on the August Bank Holiday weekend which led to thousands of Brits being stranded overseas.A Nats technical glitch caused widespread disruptions across the UK on the August Bank Holiday weekend which led to thousands of Brits being stranded overseas. (Image: PA)

A Nats technical glitch caused widespread disruption at airports across the UK on the August Bank Holiday weekend which left thousands of holidaymakers stranded overseas for several days.

In that instance, more than a quarter of flights to and from UK airports were cancelled on Monday, August 28, affecting around 250,000 people.

Cancellations continued for two more days as planes and crews were out of position.

A week later, the airport was subjected to a restriction in the number of planes that could take off and land because of “short notice sickness”.

Before more than 40 flights were cancelled, delayed or diverted due to a lack of air traffic control staff (ATC) at Gatwick Airport impacting more than 6000 airline passengers.