Gatwick's 65-Second Clock: Why a Half-Hour Storm Disrupts an Entire Day

Gatwick Airport schedules one takeoff or landing every 65 seconds—close to its declared maximum. When thunderstorms halted operations for 30 minutes on 24 June 2026, roughly 27 flight slots vanished. Unlike airports with spare capacity, Gatwick cannot absorb such losses; its timetable is written within minutes of full capacity. The backlog cascaded through the afternoon and evening. This structural vulnerability—a single runway operating at the edge of physical limits—means weather events of modest duration produce disruptions lasting twelve hours or more.