UK. Gatwick Airport has announced that it will serve 30 long-haul destinations this Summer, assisted by new services from major airlines. The expanded flight schedule will bolstered from this Sunday, with the reopening of the airport’s South Terminal.
It comes soon after Gatwick Airport management forecast that passenger traffic would reach around two-thirds of 2019 levels in 2022, as reported. From just 6.3 million in 2021, passenger numbers are forecast to leap to 30.6 million this year, or 65.7% of pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, the figure should rise to 39.9 million or 85.6% of 2019 volumes.
Singapore Airlines subsidiary Scoot is today launching a three times weekly service to Bangkok (with onward connection to Singapore) and Norse Atlantic, which last week became Gatwick’s newest airline, will operate new long-haul routes.
Meanwhile, Air Transat will begin flying from Gatwick to the Canadian cities Montreal and Quebec from 2 May and 11 May respectively. The new route to Quebec will be the only direct flight operating between London and the Canadian city.
In addition, British Airways will be adding a daily service to Islamabad from 27 March and restarting its New York service from 28 May; and Qatar Airways will resume its daily flight to Doha from Gatwick on 5 June.
Tickets to a wide range of other long-haul routes from Gatwick – operated by BA, TUI, WestJet, JetBlue, Emirates and Air Transat – are also now on sale, including Tampa, Mauritius, Toronto, Vancouver, Cancun, Antigua and Jamaica.
Gatwick is part of VINCI Airports’ network of 53 airports in 12 countries and said it is actively pursuing even more new connections to increase travel and tourism choices for passengers, as well as support for business and the economy.
From the date of the South Terminal’s reopening, 27 March, Gatwick is advising passengers to arrive early as the terminals may be busy. It is also asking that all passengers – regardless of airline – check the terminal they are flying from with their airline before they come to the airport.
Gatwick Airport VP of Aviation Development Stephanie Wear said: “Adding the likes of Bangkok, Quebec, Montreal and Islamabad to the fantastic selection of long-haul routes from Gatwick is great news for our passengers, including tourists and businesses across the south-east.
“The additions of Scoot and Norse Atlantic to the Gatwick family highlights the importance of Gatwick to airlines and we are equally delighted to welcome Qatar Airways back to the airport this summer too. As we look to grow back following the impacts of the pandemic, we hope to be able to add more long-haul routes to our range of destinations and continue to reconnect people and places across the world.”
Passengers travelling through Gatwick will be able to take advantage of Vodafone’s next generation 5G mobile network across both North and South terminals, as the airport becomes the first in the UK to offer this level of 5G service.
