EasyJet’s boss has criticized the National Air Transport Authority (Nats) after disruptions at Gatwick Airport.
A shortage of air traffic controllers caused delays and cancellations at Gatwick Airport on Thursday night.
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said staffing shortages had “plagued our industry and disappointed our customers time and time again throughout the summer”.
The Nats have apologized for the lack of staffing, with Gatwick airport’s control tower now “full”.
By Thursday night, 42 flights had been canceled and hundreds of delays had been delayed, according to the website Flightradar24, but the airport said it was “operating normally.”
“Sustained staffing shortages at the Nationals have plagued the industry, leaving customers disappointed multiple times throughout the summer and causing more than a month of disruption,” Lundgren said. .
“This cannot be allowed to continue.
“We need to act now to resolve staffing shortages, while also considering wider issues to ensure Nats can provide a robust service to passengers now and into the future.”
Passengers still reported minor delays, and some planes struggled to return home after being diverted.
One passenger who was due to arrive at Gatwick Airport from Dalaman, Turkey on Thursday night had his flight rescheduled and ended up landing in Cardiff at 04:00 UK time.
She told the BBC that she had to wait three hours before being transported.
James Devonport, from Brighton, returned from Dublin on Thursday night and said the journey had been “pretty chaotic”, adding: “It wasn’t until I got a notification on my phone that staff really realized my flight was delayed. It’s like I didn’t know,” he said.
“It was all quite graphic and people were quite angry,” he told BBC Radio Sussex.
The plane took off about 90 minutes later.
“I felt really lucky to be on the flight that I managed to get on,” Devonport said.
Travel expert Simon Calder Posted to 197,000 followers X, formerly known as Twitter, reported that flights were back to normal on Friday morning “albeit with some additional delays following the latest issues with air traffic control.”
Jack Slater, who was traveling to Milan from Gatwick on Friday, said all flights “appear to be experiencing some delays, but no delays of more than an hour”.
He said everyone at the airport was “feeling pretty chilly.”