London Gatwick’s recovery accelerates

Gatwick Airport (LGW) is accelerating its recovery on the back of strong passenger demand and encouraging air traffic volumes thanks to the lifting of all travel restrictions imposed by the UK, as the airline industry moves towards pre-pandemic levels after the devastating effects of the COVID-19 crisis.

Strong first semester results

• Passenger demand was 74.3% of pre-pandemic levels for the second quarter, after all UK travel restrictions were lifted, and 59.1% for the half-year period.
• 13.1 million passengers passed through the airport in the first six months of the year.
• Revenue was £291.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022.
• Returns to profitability with EBITDA of £148.3 million and profit after tax of £50.6 million.

Gatwick is forecast to move 32.8 million passengers, thanks to the result of increased demand in the first half of the year. However, the airport maintains that economic uncertainty, including inflationary pressures on costs and passenger demand for the winter season, may change forecasts.

London’s second major airport plans to complete the resurfacing of its main runway to improve resilience and the redevelopment of the airfield’s train station by 2023.

Due to the increase in air traffic during the first half of this year, Gatwick (LGW) made early provisions to ensure reliable flight schedules by gradually increasing its declared capacity and hired more than 400 new security staff to reduce delays.

See also: JetBlue inaugurates flights between Boston and London Gatwick

Return destinations, new routes and airlines at London Gatwick (LGW)

• Norse Atlantic opened its base at LGW with two new services to New York (JFK) and Oslo (OSL).
• Bamboo Airways announced flights to Hanoi (HAN), the only non-stop service to Vietnam from LGW.
• British Airways resumes seasonal service to Cape Town (CPT).
• JetBlue Airways added a new nonstop connection to Boston (BOS).
• WestJet and Air Transat added new services from Canadian secondary cities.
• British Airways and TUI Airways have increased their long-haul routes to the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean.

«We still have a long way to go, but strong demand has accelerated Gatwick’s recovery from the pandemic, particularly in the last quarter since all UK travel restrictions were lifted. Air traffic volumes have reflected this strong passenger demand and have recovered to around 75 percent of pre-COVID levels,» said Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick Airport.

«Unprecedented growth in traffic led to short-term operational problems in June, however, our decisive early action to limit airport capacity in the crucial July and August school vacation period has ensured that passengers have enjoyed reliable flight schedules throughout the summer months. We are now operating as usual and see no reason to extend the capacity declaration,» Wingate added.