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Gatwick has narrowed losses for financial 2021 as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to recede. The airport reported an annual loss of £370 million for the year to December 31st, an improvement on the £466 million lost in the previous year. The improvement came despite “continually changing travel restrictions and the emergence of the Omicron variant,” the airport said.
An encouraging end to 2021 saw passenger numbers at Gatwick exceed one million in August, September, October and December. UK lockdowns and widespread international travel restrictions led to a 39 per cent reduction in total annual passenger numbers at the airport, which hit 6.3 million passengers for the year, compared to 10.2 million previously.
The airport was able to offset the impact of reduced total passenger numbers - and maximise the benefits of a stronger second half to the year - through actions taken in 2020 to significantly reduce operating costs. This included the consolidation of all air traffic and passengers into the north terminal.
Following a government decision to “return discipline” to the airport slot regulations and a series of significantly increased airline flying programmes by its airlines, Gatwick will reopen the south terminal on March 27th.
Two new long-haul airlines also started at Gatwick towards the end of 2021, with JetBlue flying services to New York and Scoot (part of the Singapore Airlines group) flying to Bangkok.
