Apologizing for the latest inconvenience to passengers, the London hub blamed the disruption on the absence of late notification to the air traffic control tower. The scrapping of flights coincided with Gatwick posting its half-year results, in which it had declared a return to “business as usual”. Tens of thousands of holidaymakers flying abroad this summer have been affected by cancellations and delays at UK airports due to staff shortages as the industry struggles to cope with a surge in demand following the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 flights cancelled, 13 were departures. A Gatwick spokesman said: “At 07:00, restrictions were put in place on the number of flights that can arrive at Gatwick due to a late notification of staff being absent at the airport control tower. “Some flights during the day may unfortunately be delayed or canceled as a result. “Gatwick would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused to our passengers.” It came as the airport said it would not need to extend existing restrictions on passenger numbers beyond the end of August after increasing security staff to reduce delays. Gatwick also said it had provided staff to support other airport operators, including airline baggage handlers, as part of a push to improve performance. The airport had introduced capacity limits in June after labor shortages had caused overcrowding, huge queues and flight cancellations. The end of the cap contrasts with its biggest rival in London, Heathrow, which announced last week that it would continue to limit capacity until the end of October to deal with travel problems. This has caused further widespread cancellations and will also affect half-time school trips. Publishing its half-year results, Gatwick said strong demand for overseas destinations had “accelerated” the airport’s recovery from the devastating effects of the coronavirus crisis and reported a return to profit in the first six months of this year. The carrier now expects 32.8 million passengers this year, up from 6.3 million in 2021, but warned that this forecast could be hit by soaring inflation, which is driving up costs and causing people to cut back on luxuries. The numbers will still be down from 46.6 million in 2019, before the pandemic. Revenue came in at £291.5m in the half, while profit after tax came in at £50.6m. Chief executive Stewart Wingate said: “Unprecedented traffic growth led to short-term operational problems in June, however, our decisive early action to reduce airport capacity during the critical July and August school holidays ensured that passengers will have experienced reliable flights. timetables for the summer months. “We are now very much business as usual and see no reason to extend the capacity statement.” He added: “We still have a long way to go, but strong demand has accelerated Gatwick’s recovery from the pandemic, particularly in the last quarter since all UK travel restrictions were lifted. “Air traffic volumes reflect this strong passenger demand and have recovered to around 75% of pre-Covid levels. “Despite widespread economic uncertainty, we also look forward to a successful second half of the year, with exciting new airlines and routes coming on stream and continued improvement in the high standards of service for which Gatwick is renowned.”
