London Gatwick's South Terminal to reopen in March
London Gatwick airport’s South Terminal will reopen on Sunday 27 March as British Airways’ short-haul routes return, alongside increased operations from easyJet, Wizz and Vueling. This positive news comes with the start of simplified travel rules in the UK and an expected strong demand this summer and beyond as confidence in international travel returns.
After almost two years and expecting a busy summer season, London Gatwick will resume flights from its South Terminal from 27 March.
A news that comes on the day that UK authorities have announced the start of simplified travel rules with testing requirements removed for vaccinated passengers arriving into the UK.
This announcement comes also with some significantly expanded flying schedules from airlines such British Airways’ short-haul routes return, alongside increased operations from easyJet, Wizz and Vueling. Airlines who will be operating from the South Terminal include: British Airways, Vueling, Wizz, Ryanair, Norwegian, Turkish Airlines, TAP, Eastern Airways, Aurigny, Aer Lingus, Air Baltic, Airmaltia, Air Europa and Enter Air, while easyJet will operate across both South and North Terminals.
The increased demand has also already a positive impact on local job market. The airport and its partners have been recruiting for some time, with more than 2000 new posts still avaiable to help meet expected strong demand.
Stewart Wingate, Chief Executive Officer, London Gatwick said: “After an incredibly challenging two years for the airport, our partners, local communities and the entire aviation industry, we are delighted to be reopening our South Terminal next month. Following some major announcements from our airlines about significantly increased flying schedules, and from Government on removing travel restrictions and airport slot regulations, we can now look forward to once again operating a busy Gatwick this summer and beyond. Today’s news means Gatwick and our partners can also begin recruiting new staff to help us meet this demand, which is excellent news for local people who have been so badly impacted by the effects of the pandemic. With our airlines now operating hugely increased flying programmes, our passengers can once again choose from a fantastic range of destinations – both short and long haul – whether booking a holiday, family visit, business trip – or that bucket list adventure they have dreamt of for years.
It may however take time for consumer confidence to fully recover, so I urge Government to make 2022 the year when all travel restrictions are removed, including the unpopular passenger locator form and other remaining barriers to free travel.”
Gatwick is the UK’s second largest airport and flies a range of both short and long-haul point-to-point services. The airport is a vital piece of the UK’s national infrastructure and is also a major driver for both the regional and national economies. In 2019, a new long-term partnership was formed with VINCI Airports which purchased a 50.01% stake in the airport.
The world’s leading private airport operator, VINCI Airports operates 53 airports in 12 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Thanks to its expertise as a global integrator, VINCI Airports develops, finances, builds and manages airports by providing its investment capacity and its know-how in optimizing operational performance, modernizing infrastructures and managing their operations. environmental transition. VINCI Airports is the first airport operator to have committed to an international environmental strategy in 2016, to achieve the goal of net zero emissions across its entire network by 2050.
