Gatwick Airport cut the number of flights able to take off and land this summer at the south-of-London airport, due to a lack of staff.
Capacity will be limited to 825 flights a day in July and then upped to 850 per day in August, short of the usual 900 flights seen in the peak summer period.
A review of its operation found a number of companies based at Gatwick, such as ground handling firms and airlines, are likely to operate with “a severe lack of staff resources” over the summer holidays.
Gatwick said in a statement that gradually increasing its capacity from these levels “aligns its growth trajectory” with the staff levels of airlines and ground handlers.
This will “allow airlines to fly and manage more predictable and reliable flight programmes for the rest of the peak school summer holiday period”, it said.
Making the decision now would prevent travellers from experiencing more of the last-minute cancellations, queues and delays, it claimed.
It follows the letter to airports from the UK government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) earlier this week to cancel flights early to avoid more airport chaos.
The pair told airline bosses to “develop a schedule that is deliverable” after up to 4% of UK flights were cancelled during the recent half term and Platinum Jubilee weekend – up from the usual rate of 1%.
On that note, Gatwick said: “It remains imperative that each airline also reviews its operational capabilities and puts flight schedules in place that are both realistic and aligned with available crew and ground handling resources."
Gatwick is a base for easyJet PLC (LSE:EZJ), Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) and, after a pandemic hiatus, British Airways, as well as charter flights for TUI AG (LSE:TUI).
BA's Spanish sister airline Vueling, also owned by LSE:IAG, also flies from there.