Flights to and from Gatwick and Heathrow airports were disrupted on Monday amid air traffic control staff shortages and bad weather.
Monday’s disruption came after dozens of flights were cancelled over the weekend due to staffing issues at air traffic control (ATC) provider Nats.
A total of 11 outbound flights that were due to leave Gatwick on Monday were cancelled, while further inbound flights are also understood to have been grounded, said the airport.
Easyjet was said to be the worst-affected airline, with flights from Gatwick to Naples, Montpellier, Jersey, and Edinburgh among those cancelled on Monday.
BA flights to Amsterdam, Glasgow, Las Vegas, Ibiza, and Nice were also cancelled, according to Gatwick’s website.
Both airlines have apologised to passengers for the disruption.
An Easyjet spokesperson said it was “doing all possible” to minimise the impact.
“The knock-on impact of NATS air traffic control staffing shortages at Gatwick yesterday has resulted in some flights to and from Gatwick Airport this morning being unable to operate,” said a spokesperson on Monday.
“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.”
Monday’s cancellations came after 49 departures and 51 arrivals at Gatwick were cancelled due to Nats staff shortages on Sunday afternoon and evening, analysis of data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed, affecting more than 16,000 passengers.
A Heathrow spokesperson said the airport was operating as normal but said a “small number” of flights were understood to be cancelled.
A BA flight from Heathrow to Shanghai, and from Edinburgh to Heathrow were also cancelled on Monday.
The airline said the bad weather that has swept the UK and other parts of Europe in recent days was partly to blame.A BA spokesperson said on Monday: “We operate hundreds of flights every day without disruption, successfully getting tens of thousands of our customers to where they need to be.
“Along with other airlines, we’ve had to make some small adjustments to our schedule because of air traffic control restrictions caused by adverse weather.
“Whilst the vast majority of our customers will be unaffected, we apologise for any inconvenience caused and our teams are working hard to help get journeys back on track.”
A Gatwick spokesperson apologised for the disruption, and said Nats has “successfully increased the number of air traffic controllers over recent months”.
“So far this year, London Gatwick has safely handled more than 170,000 flights through Nats, a four per cent increase on last year,” said a spokesperson on Monday.
“The Nats service has been fully available more than 99.6% of the time, operating 24 hours a day.
“London Gatwick typically has 800 or more flight movements a day from a single runway.
“We will continue to work closely with the Nats leadership team to provide passengers and airlines with a good service.
“London Gatwick would like to apologise to any passengers who experienced disruption yesterday.”
Following the weekend’s disruption, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary issued fresh calls over the weekend for the resignation of the chief executive of Nats.
Mr O’Leary urged Martin Rolfe to step down and “allow someone competent” to take over.
The airline’s chief executive has repeatedly criticised Mr Rolfe, particularly over the widespread disruption at UK airports during last year’s August Bank Holiday Monday, which was caused by a Nats technical failure.
Gatwick flights have frequently been disrupted due to ATC staffing issues.
Nats previously said it is “working in line” with a staffing plan agreed with Gatwick bosses when it took over the provision of ATC services at the airport in October 2022, which includes training further controllers.
Mr O’Leary said on Monday: “UK Nats staff shortages caused multiple flight delays and cancellations at Gatwick Airport yesterday.
“This is the latest in a long line of cock-ups by UK Nats, which has yet again disrupted multiple flights and thousands of passengers at Gatwick. Airlines and passengers deserve better.
“Ryanair again calls on UK Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe to step down and allow someone competent to run an efficient UK ATC service, which airlines and passengers are entitled to expect. If he won’t go, then (new Transport Secretary) Louise Haigh should sack him.”
