UK: Gatwick flight information screens fail

Staff at Gatwick Airport had to write flight information on whiteboards for most of the day due to a technical problem with its digital screens. Vodafone provides the service, and said a damaged fibre cable had caused the information boards to stop working. In a statement at 17:00 BST, a Gatwick spokesman said the issue had been resolved and flight information was being displayed as normal. "Tens of thousands" of people departed on time and no flights were cancelled. Apologising to customers, he added that the airport's "manual contingency plan", which included having extra staff on hand to help direct passengers, had worked well. The airport earlier said a "handful of people" had missed their flights due to the problems. A spokesman said the information boards stopped working "earlier this morning" but was unable to give a precise time. Passengers earlier took to social media to vent their frustration at the loss of the flight information screens. <br/>