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
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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
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.”
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.”
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.
It is the third air-traffic control slowdown at the airport so far this month, with easyJet being the airline most affected.
More here:
Gatwick flight chaos to last all week as Covid causes staff shortages
Dozens of easyJet services axed as staff sickness hits airport’s air traffic control tower
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.
Cancellations, diversions and delays have happened frequently this month due to staff shortage at Nats, which runs the control tower.
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:
What’s the problem at Gatwick Airport and which flights will be cancelled
25,000 passengers are expected to be told in the next few days that their flights have been culled
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:
Ryanair pledges ‘no flight cancellations’ from Gatwick and calls on Nats boss to quit
‘It is the most basic requirement to hire and train adequate staff numbers,’ says Ryanair spokesperson
Simon Calder says Gatwick Airport flight cancellations due to Covid causing staff shortages
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.
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.”
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.
Over two-thirds of Brits have experienced delayed or cancelled flight
Over two-thirds of Brits have experienced a delayed flight or cancellation over the last year, data shows.
The research, by travel industry group IBS Software, also shows more than half of those affected were never told why their flights were affected.
Why are so many air-traffic controllers off sick at Gatwick?
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. Many people have questioned why the absence rate is so high.
One reason: the extremely stringent conditions for an air-traffic controller to report for work. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says controllers must not be at work when “unfit to perform the duties due to injury, fatigue, sickness, stress, including critical incident stress or other similar causes” or when they are “under the influence of psychoactive substances”.
The term “psychoactive substances” includes some over-the-counter medicines that may be used to treat common ailments.
The CAA defines psychoactive substances as “alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives and hypnotics, cocaine, other psychostimulants, hallucinogens and volatile solvents”. Caffeine and tobacco are specifically excluded.
“Alcohol impairs performance at any level and the impairment increases exponentially with the amount taken,” the CAA says.
“Many medicines, whether prescribed by a doctor or obtained ‘over the counter’ or by other means (e.g. over the internet) and illicit drugs also impair performance.
“In the short term (minutes to hours) judgement and decision-making will be affected, there will be an increase in errors and risk-taking behaviour, mood changes, poor co-ordination, tracking and concentration and slow reaction times.
“Some effects can persist for several days, particularly poor balance and slow cognition.”
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