Around 26 EasyJet flights in and out of Gatwick have been cancelled at short notice, with the airport blaming staff sickness.

A spokesperson said the London airport was facing staff shortages in its air traffic control tower.

It came as Gatwick reported its half-year results, which said it was “now very much operating business as usual”.

Thousands of people have been hit by flight cancellations and airport delays this summer.
The industry has struggled with staff shortages as demand for air travel has rebounded after the pandemic.
Around a third of people have experienced disruption while travelling abroad over the past eight weeks, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Out of those, four in five said their flights had been delayed or that they had faced longer waiting times on planes, while one in four reported flight cancellations.
Gatwick confirmed that 13 arrivals and 13 departures had been cancelled, out of a total of 180 EasyJet flights scheduled for Tuesday.

A spokesperson said: “At 7am, restrictions were put on the number of flights that can arrive into Gatwick due to late-notice staff absence in the airport’s control tower.
“Some flights throughout the day may unfortunately be delayed or cancelled as a result. Gatwick would like to apologise for any inconvenience this will cause to our passengers.”

Staff at Gatwick’s air traffic control tower are employed by a company called Air Navigation Solutions (ANS), rather than by Gatwick Airport itself. ANS have been approached for a comment.

Earlier in the summer, Gatwick recruited 400 extra security staff to try to ease queues over the holidays.
It also introduced a daily flight cap, which it said would help passengers “experience a more reliable and better standard of service”.

In its latest results statement, the airport – which is London’s second busiest – said it does not expect to extend the cap beyond the end of August.

It contrasts with Heathrow, which said last week that it will extend a cap on the number of passengers flying from the airport until the end of October due to staff shortages.

If you have news for Sussex and Surrey, contact us on news@susyradio.com