Airport Forced to Use Whiteboard to Prevent Total Travel Mayhem
Staff at London’s Gatwick airport are using whiteboards in an attempt to prevent total travel chaos following a digital screen failure. Photos shared on social media show travelers crowded around airport employees who are handwriting departure information on the temporary flight boards.
“Due to damage to a Vodafone fibre optic cable, we are continuing to display our flight info manually,” Gatwick tweeted. “Contingencies are working – we have whiteboards and friendly staff on hand to help, and tens of thousands of passengers have departed on time. Apologies for any inconvenience.”
Due to damage to a Vodafone fibre optic cable, we are continuing to display our flight info manually. Contingencies are working - we have whiteboards and friendly staff on hand to help, and tens of thousands of passengers have departed on time. Apologies for any inconvenience.
— Gatwick Airport LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) August 20, 2018
However, some passengers are taking to Twitter to vent their frustration over the situation. “Absolute carnage @Gatwick_Airport with no boards working and no staff with gate info,” wrote one traveler.
Absolute carnage @Gatwick_Airport with no boards working and no staff with gate info
— Helen (@helenwalsh) August 20, 2018
See some more reactions below.
This tiny whiteboard is the only departures information in Gatwick Airport right now; every screen is offline. Utter chaos. This is a signature flourish at the end of a short trip that’s been full of reminders of how badly the UK’s infrastructure is crumbling. pic.twitter.com/6r7CDVheLf
— Rob Fahey (@robfahey) August 20, 2018
I'm at Gatwick airport and the screens are broken, so they are announcing boarding gates with a white board! ????
They have a guy listening to a walkie talkie, erasing and updating the table! pic.twitter.com/AoxSpmQfHy— Raúl Marcos (@raulmarcosl) August 20, 2018
Nutty scenes at Gatwick: all the departure boards are broken, so one poor man is having gate numbers dictated by phone to write on a whiteboard pic.twitter.com/lvIBhV5Ksv
— Felix Renicks (@ffffelix) August 20, 2018
Gatwick Airport feels like an old school trading floor this morning - buy low sell high! #techfail #delays #onlygoingtocornwallfortheday pic.twitter.com/vuc1xBKp2x
— Hunter Ruthven (@hunterruthven) August 20, 2018
Come on Gatwick this little whiteboard isn’t doing the job!! @Gatwick_Airport pic.twitter.com/CwXp5HxIja
— Gina (@GinaMurrin) August 20, 2018
Appalling @Gatwick_Airport with broken monitors and a tiny white-board for announcing gates. Thank goodness I have eagle-vision and can read messy writing from a distance. Why not pre-assign gates like Canadian airports? #laughable #typicalbritain #frustratedpassengers pic.twitter.com/uSKDWN8ooX
— Elizabeth Humphries (@lizmezzo) August 20, 2018