The second busiest airport in London, which is the Gatwick Airport, has ordered to reduce the number of flights that will be operating from the location.
This decision was made in light of the rising number of coronavirus cases among the air traffic control employees.
Earlier in the week, the management of the airport took to limiting the number of flights to 800, which had an impact on the departures, as well as arrivals.
It has been revealed that this measure will remain in effect until the 1st of October, which is when the airport authority will have an internal meeting and decide the way forward.
Statement released
As per the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), it has been working closely with Gatwick Airport to help decide the best course of action in light of the cases.
It stated that given the number of cases that have surfaced in the last couple of weeks, the responsible thing to do was to limit the number of flights.
Consequently, NATS believes that doing so will cut down on the risk of daily disruption, especially for passengers who use the airport.
According to the airport, around 30% of the employees in the division of air traffic control are struggling with some kind of sickness, with most of them having tested positive for the coronavirus.
Moreover, NATS further disclosed that the daily cap applied will not permit people to use the facility for last-minute cancellations or delays for passengers.
Gatwick Airport
The Chief Executive of Gatwick Airport, namely Stewart Wingate, stated that the additional measure of limiting the number of flights can prevent a number of disruptions.
He went on to say that it had been a difficult decision for the management to limit the number of flights, but it was for the greater good.
In his words, airlines can now rely on their flight programs and ensure that no last-minute cancellations will be accommodated.
Consequently, neither the airlines nor the passengers will have to deal with the hassle of delayed or canceled flights.
According to the CEO, the airport is working closely with NATS to ensure that the problem does not create additional problems.
Apology
Due to the number of flights being limited, 33 departures have been estimated to suffer the consequences.
The airport authority went on to issue an apology to the passengers, explaining that the normal traffic of passengers could not be maintained due to the situation.
Up until 2022, the airport management had not lifted the airport restrictions, which had restricted the movement of passengers.
As per these restrictions, people had been prevented from traveling or carrying on with any usual activities that they did before the pandemic.
However, the situation made a turn for the better, and the restrictions were lifted soon after. The tourism and airline authorities in the country also recorded recovery numbers.
But due to a total of 10,195 cases of the coronavirus being reported between the 10th and 16th of September, the UK government had to take action.
Moreover, nearly 3,000 people have been hospitalized due to the severity of the sickness in one week alone.
