Gatwick Airport posts flight info on white boards after digital screens fail
Britain's second busiest airport was forced to go old school on Monday, but fixed the problem that evening.
An IT problem is causing London's Gatwick Airport to adopt an old school approach to relaying information to passengers.
Gatwick Airport had to post flight information on white boards on Monday after its digital screens failed due to an IT glitch.
The airport, which is 30 miles south of London and Britain's second busiest, said the problem was a result of "an ongoing issue with Vodafone," its IT provider, and directed passengers to the "temporary flight boards" or to listen for announcements.
A "handful of people had missed their flights" as a result of the glitch, an airport spokesman told Sky News, but Reuters reported it hasn't caused any flight delays.
The problem appeared to have been resolved by Monday evening.
"Our engineers have fixed a damaged fibre cable which is used by Gatwick Airport to display flight information," a Vodafone spokesperson said in a statement. "We are very sorry for any problems caused by this issue."
Gatwick Airport didn't immediately respond to a request for further comment.
I'm at Gatwick airport and the screens are broken, so they are announcing boarding gates with a white board! 😂
— Raúl Marcos (@raulmarcosl) August 20, 2018
They have a guy listening to a walkie talkie, erasing and updating the table! pic.twitter.com/AoxSpmQfHy
"I'm at Gatwick airport and the screens are broken, so they are announcing boarding gates with a white board!" tweeted traveller Raul Marcos. "They have a guy listening to a walkie talkie, erasing and updating the table!"
First published at 5:11 a.m. PT.
Update at 9:30 a.m. PT: Adds Vodafone saying the repairs are complete.
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