FLIGHTS to and from Jersey could be disrupted during the peak summer season, following a decision to limit capacity at London Gatwick Airport.
The airport, which is the UK’s second-busiest, recently carried out a review of operations and confirmed yesterday that it would not be able to operate at maximum capacity, previously fixed at 900 flights per day.
Reducing the capacity to 825 daily flights in July and 850 in August will leave airlines having to reduce their operations during this period.
Gatwick Airport highlighted ‘a severe lack of staff resources over the summer holiday period’.
In a statement, the airport said: ‘If not addressed, this issue would see airport passengers continuing to experience an unreliable and potentially poor standard of service, including more queues, delays and last-minute cancellations.’
Travel experts have forecast that easyJet, which provides several services daily between Gatwick and Jersey, will be the airline most affected by the cap.
A spokesperson for easyJet said the airline recognised the need for the move given what it referred to as ‘the current challenging operating environment’ and the need for all airlines to provide reliable services.
EasyJet said it would be reviewing its operations, and expected to be able to re-accommodate the majority of affected customers. It was not able to confirm whether this could lead to any Jersey services being cancelled.
Other airlines are also likely to be affected, including British Airways, which operates the majority of its Jersey flights via London Heathrow, with one Gatwick flight in each direction.
