Gatwick Airport to cancel up to 4,000 flights over summer
London's Gatwick Airport has reduced the number of flights using its runways during the peak summer period as a result of ongoing staff shortages.
Gatwick said on Friday that it will cut daily flights to 825 in July and 850 in August, down from 900 in previous years as both Downing Street and regulators implored carriers to ensure their summer timetables were "deliverable" after tens of thousands of passengers were hit with cancellations and delays at UK airports over recent weeks.
The restrictions will lead to as many as 4,000 flights being cancelled.
Gatwick noted that it had made the move to temporarily lower flight numbers following a review of its operations.
Stewart Wingate, Gatwick's chief executive, highlighted that several companies operating at the airport had struggled from staff shortages during the week of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
"By taking decisive action now, we aim to help the ground handlers - and also our airlines - to better match their flying programmes with their available resources," said Wingate.
Gatwick stated it has now recruited 400 new staff in order to help passengers pass through security checks during summer, with more new recruits set to start in the coming weeks.
However, a review conducted by the airport revealed that many companies based at Gatwick still had inadequate staffing levels and, if the issue is not addressed, passengers will likely continue to experience queues delays and cancellations.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com