Gatwick has reopened its South Terminal increasing its daily flights from about 300 flights a day (26 March) to 570 flights (27 March). The terminal has been refurbished during its closure since 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.
Airlines including BA, TUI, Emirates, Qatar, WestJet, Air Transat, Jet Blue and Norse Atlantic are also flying to over 30 long haul destinations direct from Gatwick this summer, including New York, Tampa, Phuket, Mauritius, Dubai, Doha and Bangkok – alongside a range of routes to Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico, including Toronto, Vancouver, Cancun, Antigua and Montego Bay.
Stewart Wingate, CEO, Gatwick Airport, 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 we are effectively opening a medium-sized airport overnight, which is no small task.”
Wizz Air has launched 18 new routes from its base at Gatwick Airport. With a mixture of year-round and seasonal routes to Bari, Bourgas, Faro, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Rome, Palma de Mallorca, Larnaca, Varna, Venice, Vienna, Catania, Podgorica, Tel Aviv, Chania, Mykonos and Funchal, the airport’s expansion will see Wizz Air operate a total of 25 routes from Gatwick.
Wizz Air’s successful bid for 15 daily slots pairs at Gatwick Airport in December last year means that the airline will be basing four additional Airbus A321neo aircraft at Gatwick, taking the airline’s total number of Gatwick based aircraft to five.
Marion Geoffroy, Managing Director of Wizz Air UK, said: “Today’s route launches signify the start of an exciting new chapter for Wizz Air UK at Gatwick Airport as we embark on the summer travel season. Through this significant expansion we are reaffirming our commitment to providing low-fare connectivity to our customers in London and the South of England – and we want them to know that WIZZ is here to stay.”
