Chaos At Gatwick As IT Glitch Forces Staff To Write Flight Information On Whiteboards
20 August 2018, 12:27 | Updated: 20 August 2018, 15:31
Gatwick Airport descended into chaos as all of the overhead departure boards stopped working, resulting in airport staff writing flight information on whiteboards.
Passengers flying from Gatwick Airport face severe disruption as an IT fault means that none of the passenger information screens are working.
Hundreds of passengers have resulted to huddling around a single whiteboard as staff write gate information by hand.
In a tweet, the airport said that damage to fibre optic cable was the cause of the issue and that the whiteboard "contingencies" have been working.
Due to damage to a Vodafone fibre optic cable, we are continuing to display our flight info manually. Contingencies are working - we have whiteboards and friendly staff on hand to help, and tens of thousands of passengers have departed on time. Apologies for any inconvenience.
— Gatwick Airport LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) August 20, 2018
The mid-August drama comes as families embark on their summer holidays.
Photos on social media show huge crowds gathering in the terminal buildings, with passengers venting their frustrations at not knowing which gate to head to.
Earlier in the day, the airport Tweeted that they were using "temporary flight boards".
1/2: Due to an ongoing issue with Vodafone - an IT provider for the airport - our flight information screens are not displaying correctly. Please use the temporary flight boards in the departure lounges or listen for airline flight announcements.
— Gatwick Airport LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) August 20, 2018
2/2: We expect Vodafone to resolve the issue soon and would like to apologise to passengers for any inconvenience.
— Gatwick Airport LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) August 20, 2018
Staff can be seen rubbing out flight information and updating it with black and red marker pens.
The IT failure is affecting screens in both the North and South terminal buildings at the airport.
