Gatwick tech glitch grounds holidaymakers

FLIGHTS at Gatwick were grounded for 90 minutes after an IT glitch in air traffic control systems brought departures to a standstill.

IT systems linking Gatwick’s control tower with the NATS air traffic centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, went down on Thursday, paralysing the airport and stoking fears of a repeat during the peak summer months.

Arrivals at the airport were also delayed by up to two hours as officials scrambled to rectify the NATS AFTM system.

Industry sources said airlines were forced to cancel flights and it took the rest of the day to clear a backlog of departures at the airport.

Gatwick control towers are operated by German company ANSL, with statebacked NATS taking broader responsibility for running the skies above the UK.

ANSL has suffered a deluge of staff sickness in recent weeks, forcing the airport to reduce the number of flights that can land at Gatwick on at least two days.

NATS and ANSL accused each other of being responsible for the IT failure.

Both parties declined to comment further.

NATS is the main provider of air traffic services in the UK. The Government retains a golden share in the business alongside airlines, Heathrow airport and staff.

NATS is thought to have launched an investigation into Thursday’s IT failure.

Yesterday Gatwick took the unprecedented move to restrict the number of daily flights this summer in an attempt to mitigate further travel chaos.

The airport will limit the number of daily flights to 825 in July and 850 in August. Ordinarily, up to 900 flights would take off and land at the airport during these months.

Stewart Wingate, Gatwick’s chief executive, said: “We have put a heck of a lot of effort into getting ready for the summer period. [But] the rebound is happening faster at Gatwick than any other European airport.”

The restrictions followed a joint letter from the Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport ordering airlines to rip up their timetables this summer and only schedule flights that carriers were confident would go ahead.