Gatwick Airport caps flights: Are COVID-19 cases in the UK on a rise?

Concerns over COVID-19 infections are rising again in the United Kingdom after a slew of coronavirus-related flight cancellations left thousands grounded at Gatwick airport.

A recent outbreak among British air traffic control personnel, affecting about 30 percent of the staff, including COVID-19 cases, has forced London's second-busiest airport, Gatwick, to implement a daily flight cap of 800 departures and arrivals until Sunday.

A spokesperson from the airport said, "Due to short notice sickness in the air-traffic control tower including cases of COVID-19, temporary air traffic control restrictions were put in place yesterday."

The largest number of flight cancellations is expected on Friday, September 29.

According to the COVID-19 dashboard, the UK has reported a significantly higher number of cases in August  (1,445) and September (1,156) as compared to previous months.

Similarly, the rate of weekly positively of people receiving a PCR test for influenza has also been on the rise and has nearly doubled in September (0.84) as compared to June this year (0.4).

A rise in COVID-19 and flu cases is usually reported as countries in the West approach the winter months. In August, the new COVID variant EG.5.1 was the reason behind rising cases in the UK. One out of 10 COVID-19 cases in the UK were because of the new strain.

At Gatwick Airport, staff members are off sick due to various reasons, including COVID-19 and possibly the flu. The surge in cases comes during a transition in the UK Health Secretary Agency's dashboard, which tracks and reports winter viruses.