There Are Officers Infected With COVID-19, London Gatwick Airport Cancels 160 Travels And Limits Daily Flights

London Gatwick Airport. (Wikimedia Commons/Hunter Desportes)

JAKARTA - Hundreds of flights were canceled at London Gatwick Airport, while the number of daily flights was also limited, due to staff shortages due to illness.

Airport authorities said the restrictions imposed from Monday to October 1, had resulted in 164 flights being canceled.

Meanwhile, the number of daily flights will be limited to 800 flights per day during this time span, with Friday being the most affected day.

It said this was caused by a disease among flight control staff. British air traffic control service provider NATS said 30 percent of its staff were unable to work because some of them were infected with COVID-19.

"This is a difficult decision, but the action we took today means our airline can fly reliable flight programs, which provide more certainty for passengers, that they will not face a cancellation in the last minute," said London Airport CEO Gatwick Stewart Wingate, launching Evening Standard September 26.

"We are working with NATS to build resilience in the control tower, and this decision means we can prevent as much interference as possible," Wingate continued.

"London Gatwick would like to apologize to any passengers affected by this restriction," he said.

The NATS apologized to passengers in a statement regarding flight cancellations and restrictions.

"We have worked very closely with Gatwick Airport so far. Given the level of disease we have experienced over the past few weeks, we believe limiting the number of flights this week is responsible for reducing the risk of daily disruption to passengers using airports," NATS explained.

The NATS said it was training additional air traffic controllers, expecting other groups to start working in towers in Gatwick "in the coming months, ready for next summer".

"Even experienced air traffic controllers need at least nine months to qualify in Gatwick and very few are capable of doing so, because Gatwick is a busy and complex air traffic environment," he said.