Gatwick has lost £1million a day in 2021 – but sees a strong summer ahead if the passenger locator form works Business News

The UK’s second-biggest airport, London Gatwick, lost just over £1million a day on average in 2021. Still, that was an improvement on the daily loss of £1.275million pounds sterling in 2020, although Gatwick saw far fewer passengers.

Cost savings were achieved by moving all airlines and travelers to the smaller northern terminal.

Closures in the UK and widespread restrictions on international travel have led to a 38% drop in passenger numbers at Gatwick in 2021: 6.3 million passengers for the year, compared to 10.2 million previously.

The corresponding figure in 2019 was 46.6 million, making Gatwick by far the busiest single-runway airport in the world. By 2021, the numbers had dropped by 84%.

However, the loss results were accompanied by a certain confidence in the future.

Gatwick’s South Terminal will reopen on March 27, with British Airways resuming its short-haul schedule with 18 aircraft on 35 routes. Wizz Air and Vueling are setting up smaller bases.

Sussex Airport’s biggest airline, easyJet, will provide even more capacity than before the coronavirus pandemic, with 79 planes covering 120 routes.

Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick, expressed optimism about the year ahead – provided bureaucracy is reduced.

“As with many airports, 2021 has been a challenging year for Gatwick but, despite ever-changing travel restrictions and the emergence of the Omicron variant, we managed to finish the year strong and cut our losses. compared to the previous year,” he said.

“We look forward to welcoming more and more passengers.

“However, fully restoring consumer confidence will take time and I urge the government to make 2022 the year that all travel restrictions are completely removed, including the unpopular passenger locator form.”

Media leaks suggest the UK’s much criticized online form could be dropped within 10 days. It must currently be completed by all arrivals from abroad except those who started their journey in Russia or Ukraine.

Looking ahead, Gatwick is proposing to increase capacity by bringing its backup runway into routine service by summer 2029 – ahead of the third runway which Heathrow Airport says will be needed.