Up to 60 Gatwick flights were cancelled and 9,000 passengers affected following further air traffic control problems.
The number of aircraft that could take off and land at Gatwick on Wednesday evening was restricted because of “short notice sickness” in the air control tower, managed by National Air Traffic Services (Nats), Sky News reported.
EasyJet – the worst-affected airline with 42 cancellations – said staffing problems had caused 29 days of travel restrictions at Gatwick since May.
A reduced schedule was “imposed on airlines” because of the staffing situation, EasyJet added.
Other carriers forced to cancel flights included Lufthansa, Norwegian, Iberia Express and Vueling.
A Gatwick spokesperson said: “Due to short notice sickness in the air traffic control tower, temporary air traffic control restrictions were put in place (on Wednesday night).
“London Gatwick would like to apologise to any passengers who have been impacted by these restrictions.”
Meanwhile, Easyjet warned that national strike action in Italy today (Friday) could lead to delays and disruption due to the impact on “critical areas” in airports.
The latest Gatwick air traffic control disruption follows the Nats system failure on August bank holiday Monday which led to an independent review by the Civil Aviation Authority amid calls for compensation by airlines for collective losses of £100 million.
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: “It is extremely disappointing that some Gatwick passengers were hit by further air traffic control disruption after last week’s travel chaos.”