London Gatwick Airport suspends flight operations over ATC problems
London Gatwick Airport temporarily suspended flight operations due to problems with the aircraft's ATC tower on Wednesday night.
Problems started at 17.00 local time. The closure lasted nearly two hours and caused at least two dozen incoming flights to move to alternative airports.
Gatwick Airport said it was working with ANS, provider of ATC services, to solve the problem.
UPDATE Weds 1[ads1]9.00: All flights in Gatwick remain suspended due to Air Traffic Control system issues. We apologize for any passengers affected. If you are flying tonight, we recommend checking the status of your flight with your airline before traveling to the airport.
– Gatwick Airport LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) July 10, 2019
Travelers Flight to or from Gatwick is prompted to check flight status as the aircraft will be impacted throughout the rest of the day and cancellations are possible.
The hub, mostly used by low cost airlines, is United Kindom's second busiest, and Europe's eighth busiest airport with passenger traffic. More than 46 million travelers passed Gatwick Airport in 2018.
During the Christmas holidays, Gatwick was closed for 30 hours due to drones at the airport.
Jakob Wert is an airline journalist from Germany. He built up the IFN.news website and is editor of International Flight Network.
