At Gatwick Airport near London, England, air traffic controllers have been unable to work due to a series of new coronavirus infections, and more than 1 flights to and from the first of next month have been canceled.
According to the announcement by Gatwick Airport on the 25th, about 30% of the controllers working at the control tower became sick due to infection with the new coronavirus and were unable to work.
As a result, the number of departures and arrivals was limited to 1 flights per day, and 800 flights were canceled by October 10.
In a statement, the airport apologized and said: "It was a difficult decision, but it will allow airlines to operate according to a reliable plan and passengers will not have to face flight cancellations at the last minute of departure."
In addition, the National Air Traffic Control Service, which is responsible for air traffic control in the UK, said that "the situation will improve after the busy summer season" and will be trained to increase the number of controllers in the future.
Although Gatwick does not offer direct flights to and from Japan, it has many low-cost flights to and from European countries, with the second highest annual number of passengers in the country.
According to the British government, the number of new corona infections, which had temporarily decreased to about 1 per day in England, has exceeded 164,2 every day this month.