Whiteboards used at airport after IT failure

GATWICK AIRPORT was using whiteboards yesterday to display flight information following an IT failure.

Staff resorted to manually writing out crucial information such as gate numbers for each departure from the UK’s second busiest airport.

Some passengers have missed their flights due to the issue, which the West Sussex airport said was caused by damage to a fibre optic cable.

A Gatwick spokesman said: “Due to an ongoing issue with Vodafone – a provider of IT services for Gatwick – flight information is not being displayed correctly on the airport’s digital screens and is currently being displayed manually in the terminals.

“Gatwick would like to apologise to any passengers affected and expects Vodafone to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”

He added that a “handful of people have missed their flights” as a result of the problem.

Ayla Herbert, 26, from Penryn, Cornwall, was at the airport for a Flybe flight to Newquay when she encountered a crowd gathered around two whiteboards after passing through security.

She said: “They used megaphones to tell everyone of updated information.”

August is one of the busiest periods for airports as many families embark on summer holidays.