An outbreak of COVID-19 has caused widespread disruption at London Gatwick Airport, with many flights cancelled.
Many Nats air traffic controllers are struggling with COVID-19 and cannot be replaced, meaning thousands of people have been unable to board their flights to or from Gatwick Airport.
The unrest began on Monday and continued on Tuesday, as several carriers are now calling for the resignation of Nats CEO Martin Rolfe, The Independent reports.
According to initial estimates, more than 8,000 passengers were affected by this situation and around fifty flights were canceled or redirected from this airport and many other services were delayed.
Delays could be as long as seven hours according to English media.
The airline Ryanair, which spends more than 100 million euros ($142 million Canadian) per year for the services of Nats, lamented the situation and called for the departure of its CEO.
“This is the basis of having an adequate number of trained employees including on-call personnel,” the company said in a press release. It is clear that CEO Martin Rolfe has done nothing to resolve the situation and should resign from his position.
Nats also responded in a statement, saying its operations will improve as its employees return to work.
“We are continuing to train more air traffic controllers and believe they will be qualified to work in the coming months and ready for next summer,” it added.
