London Gatwick Airport welcomes passengers and airlines back to its South Terminal!
London Gatwick reopened its South Terminal yesterday and has gone from an airport with about 300 flights a day (26 March) to one operating around 570 flights (27 March) – making it the equivalent of opening a medium-sized airport overnight.
VINCI Airports and Gatwick’s teams and partners – including airlines, shops, cafes and bars – have spent months refurbishing, cleaning, updating and testing facilities and equipment that has not been in use since the terminal closed during the pandemic on 15 June 2020.
Many airlines that had been flying from the airport’s North Terminal for the last 21 months, have or are in the process of switching terminals between 27 March and 29 March, including major airlines such as British Airways, Wizz Air, Vueling, Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Norwegian. EasyJet, which will fly 120 routes from Gatwick – the most ever from the airport – will operate from both North and South Terminals. BA will also operate 35 short haul routes to destinations across Europe, Wizz Air 25 European routes and Vueling a total of 16 routes, all from the reopened South Terminal.
The significant increase in the choice of destinations flown direct from the airport – combined with positive booking data to date – indicates a strong summer season expected this year.
Stewart Wingate, CEO, London Gatwick, said: “A lot of work has gone into preparing our South Terminal, and I would like to thank everybody involved as their combined efforts mean that today we are effectively opening a medium-sized airport overnight, which is no small task. […] We’re now ready and excited to welcome passengers back in large numbers, and our restaurants, shops, cafes and bars are also looking forward to serving passengers again before they jet off on holiday, to visit friends and family or take that vital business trip. After a difficult two years, we know there is significant pent-up demand for international travel, so I advise passengers to book early to make sure they secure the flights they want this summer. […] Reopening our South Terminal and the increase in the choice of flights our airlines are offering is also great news for our local communities, particularly people and their families who rely on the airport for their livelihood, and also the large number of support and supply businesses that depend on a successful airport.”
As 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 operates airports by providing its investment capacity and know-how in optimizing operational performance, modernizing infrastructure and leading their environmental transition. VINCI Airports is the first airport operator to commit to an international environmental strategy on an international scale in 2016, to achieve net-zero emissions across its network by 2050
