Gatwick Airport has limited the number of flights that can land on Wednesday afternoon, which has led to a large number of delays and cancellations.
The airport has reported temporary air traffic control restrictions are in place which have been caused by short notice sickness in the control tower and bad weather.
The arrival list for Wednesday afternoon shows that around half of the planned flights have been cancelled and those that are running are delayed by up to two hours. It is a similar story for the departure board.
Gatwick’s management has apologised. Passengers experienced similar delays earlier in the summer, with problems arising just last week.
⛈ Air traffic restrictions caused by poor weather across Southern England and parts of Europe, and short notice sickness in our control tower, are likely to cause delays for much of the day. We apologise to passengers impacted by today’s disruption.
— Gatwick Airport LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) September 8, 2022
✈ https://t.co/6NeRB6oL4S
Passengers vented their frustration on Twitter.
“Sat on plane for 3hrs in Dalaman waiting for a slot back to LGW,” one wrote.
Another added: “As long as humans have been around they’ve had occasional temperatures and colds…”
Gatwick Airport wrote on Twitter: “Air traffic restrictions caused by poor weather across southern England and parts of Europe, and short notice sickness in our control tower, are likely to cause delays for much of the day.
“We apologise to passengers impacted by today’s disruption.”