LONDON: Gatwick, Britain’s second busiest airport, was forced to post flight information on white boards on Monday after an IT glitch meant its digital screens failed. The airport, 30 miles south of London which primarily serves passengers heading on short-haul flights to European destinations, said there were no flight delays linked to the issue, although a handful of people had missed flights.
“Due to an ongoing issue with Vodafone — a provider of IT services for Gatwick — flight information is not being displayed correctly on the airport’s digital screens and is currently being displayed manually in the terminals,” the airport said in a statement.
Pictures showed people crowding to see their gate numbers as a member of staff wrote up information on a white board during the busy summer holiday season.
“Gatwick would like to apologise to any passengers affected and expects Vodafone to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” Gatwick, London and Britain’s no 2 airport behind Heathrow, said in its statement.
OLA STARTS OPERATIONS
Indian ride-hailing company Ola began operating in south Wales on Monday ahead of a planned expansion across Britain by the end of the year, intensifying its battle with US rival Uber.
Britain is Ola’s second venture into a foreign market after it started operations in Australia in February. Unlike Uber, the company offers customers the option of private hire vehicles and taxis on one platform.
Ola “looks forward to providing passengers with a dynamic, new responsible service,” Ben Legg, managing director of Ola UK, said in a statement.
Legg emphasised Ola’s screening processes for drivers and safety features such as 24/7 voice support and an option to share ride details with emergency contacts.
Ola was launched in 2011 and claims to handle around a billion rides a year across India’s major centres and seven cities in Australia.
Ride-hailing apps are booming in India despite stiff opposition from traditional taxi firms and some initial concerns about passenger safety. Ola and Uber are locked in an aggressive fight for a greater share of India’s taxi-app market. — Reuters/AFP
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