Gatwick Airport, the UK’s second largest airport, has announced that it will reduce the number of flights during the summer season due to a significant shortage of staff.

The company that operates the airport said in a statement that “the number of daily flights will be reduced from 900 to 825 in July, and the number will reach 850 flights per day in August after the Ministry of Transport issued directives. airlines to ensure that flights are operated in accordance with its capabilities and the number of employees at its disposal, in order to avoid airport overcrowding, as happened earlier this month.

The company explained: “The decision to reduce the number of flights was taken after reviewing and evaluating the operation of the airport so that travelers can receive a higher level of service,” noting that “400 new employees were recently hired to help with security checks, the number of which will increase over the course of the next few days. “Next period”.

British airports have been facing a traveler overcrowding crisis in recent weeks as travel and airlines have sold ticket and room bookings in excess of their capacity and operation, forcing some to cancel many flights.

Airlines and airports in the UK are suffering from a severe shortage of workers after tens of thousands of them have been made redundant over the past two years due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, travel restrictions and more. The context is the difficulty of hiring an alternative number of employees and quickly training them to keep up with the huge demand for air travel once travel restrictions are lifted.