Britain: Gatwick Airport reduces the number of flights in the summer

Following scenes of chaos and flight cancellations recently affecting British airports, London Gatwick Airport announced today that it would significantly reduce the number of daily flights in July and August.

“During this peak holiday period, the airport will carefully and gradually increase its capacity,” limiting it to 825 flights a day in July and 850 in August, the airport said in a statement, which operated nearly 900 flights. during the summer months before the pandemic.

The airport speaks of “a serious shortage of staff” that will affect a certain number of airlines or groundhandling providers in Gatwick during the summer.

“If left unresolved, this problem will result in airport passengers receiving unreliable and potentially mediocre services with more queues, delays and last minute flight cancellations,” Gatwick warned.

The aviation industry is one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has curtailed much of air traffic amid lockdowns and travel restrictions, with airlines and airports laying off thousands of workers.

As demand recovers, the industry is finding it difficult to recruit, a problem that is expected to continue throughout the summer and affect both the UK and the continent’s airports, officials have warned.

Gatwick, which owns most of Vinci Airports, was the UK’s second busiest airport before the pandemic.

Source: Capital

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