Passengers travelling through Norwich Airport are facing fresh disruption today after Air Traffic Control staff sickness combined with ongoing industrial action forced the airport to close to air traffic for large parts of Thursday, 3 September.
Norwich Airport has issued an urgent passenger update confirming three separate periods during which aircraft will be unable to take off or land.
The airport says it will be closed to air traffic from 06:00 until 14:00, again between 16:00 and 16:45, and for a third period between 18:45 and 19:30.
Airlines have been informed and passengers are being advised to check directly with their carrier before travelling to the airport.
The latest disruption is already affecting scheduled flights.
Norwich Airport’s live passenger information shows KLM flight KL1054 from Norwich to Amsterdam has been cancelled due to operational reasons.
Return flight KL1055 from Amsterdam to Norwich and subsequent KL1056 from Norwich to Amsterdam are also listed as cancelled.
KLM is contacting affected passengers regarding rebooking arrangements.
The latest closures are particularly significant because they come less than a week after Norwich Airport was shut to all air traffic for an entire day during a separate 24-hour strike by Air Traffic Control employees on Friday, 28 August.
DM News reported that strike before it took place, after members of the Prospect union announced they would walk out as part of an ongoing dispute concerning pay, terms and conditions.
Today’s disruption is different because the airport says Air Traffic Control staff sickness is now combining with the continuing industrial action to reduce its ability to find additional staff cover.
Prospect members have been taking industrial action short of a strike since 17 August.
The union previously confirmed that this includes working strictly to contractual requirements, refusing non-contractually required overtime, refusing shift swaps and withdrawing goodwill.
Prospect warned when the dispute began that Norwich Airport’s Air Traffic Control operation was already working with very low staffing levels and regularly relied on staff flexibility to maintain safe minimum coverage.
That means sickness can have a considerably greater operational impact while the action short of strike remains in place.
For passengers whose airport journeys are affected by cancellations or changed travel arrangements, DM Airport Transfers provides pre-booked airport transfers throughout the UK.
The dispute centres on pay and employment conditions for Norwich Airport’s Air Traffic Control staff.
Prospect announced in August that its members were seeking pay levels and employment terms more closely aligned with comparable Air Traffic Control roles elsewhere in the UK.
Norwich Airport subsequently said it had made what it described as a substantial and responsible offer to employees.
The airport said workers had already received a 3.5% pay increase in April 2026 and that its latest proposal included a further 3% consolidated increase from July 2026 followed by another 3% from April 2027.
However, the dispute has continued and today’s operational restrictions demonstrate that disruption can occur even when a full strike is not taking place.
Passengers should not assume their flight is operating normally simply because today is not a scheduled strike day.
Anyone due to fly from Norwich should check their airline’s latest flight information before setting off, particularly because the airport’s operational position could change as staffing availability develops during the day.
Passengers whose flights are cancelled should follow instructions provided by their airline regarding rebooking, refunds or alternative arrangements.
Today’s closures represent the latest escalation in what has now become a prolonged period of Air Traffic Control disruption at Norwich Airport, following partial closures on 21 August and the full-day shutdown on 28 August.
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Sources
Norwich Airport – Important Passenger Update for Thursday 3 September
Prospect – Air Traffic Control Industrial Action at Norwich Airport
