London’s Gatwick Expecting 3,000% More Flights This April

Gatwick Airport will see the highest number of departures since December 2019 over the next month as it reopens its South Terminal. Gatwick will handle almost 10,000 departures over April, representing a 3000% increase on April 2021.

A busy month for Gatwick Airport

According to data from Cirium, Gatwick Airport is set for its busiest month since the pre-pandemic era. The airport will see 9,805 departures over April, its highest number since December 2019.

The re-opening of Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal, which represents over half of the airport’s capacity, will play a significant role in helping the airport return to normal. Gatwick, which was once in the Top 10 busiest European airports, has been one of the worst-affected airports since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Gatwick has recruited over 2,000 new posts in preparation for a busy summer. Photo: Getty Images

Compared to April 2021, which saw just 322 departures over the entire month, Gatwick Airport will handle 30x more flights this coming April. In fact, Gatwick will almost reach its entire April 2021 total on March 27th alone, with 288 scheduled departures.

South Terminal reopening

In the wake of the global COVID pandemic, Gatwick Airport responded to a drastic drop in passenger numbers by shutting down its South Terminal in June 2020. The terminal has been out of use ever since. In February, the airport announced the South Terminal reopening would take place on March 27th.

With its re-opening, Gatwick will offer more than 30 long-haul destinations over the summer, including Bangkok, Quebec, Montreal and Islamabad. The airport has welcomed back carriers, including Qatar Airways, and attracted new ones in the likes of Scoot and Norse Atlantic.

Stephanie Wear, VP of Aviation Development at Gatwick Airport, said,

“Adding the likes of Bangkok, Quebec, Montreal and Islamabad to the fantastic selection of long-haul routes from Gatwick is great news for our passengers, including tourists and businesses across the South-East. As we look to grow back following the impacts of the pandemic, we hope to be able to add more long-haul routes to our range of destinations and continue to reconnect people and places across the world.”

easyJet will be the busiest airline

Budget carrier easyJet will be the largest operator at Gatwick in April with 5,724 departures, accounting for around six out of 10 departures. The airline will offer 120 routes out of Gatwick and has stationed 79 aircraft at the airport.

Last week, the carrier announced four new routes out of Gatwick, including Limoges and Rennes in France.

easyJet will offer 120 routes from Gatwick Airport. Photo: Getty Images

Ali Gayward, easyJet UK country manager, said,

“We are delighted to announce more new routes from the UK for next summer and provide our customers with an even wider range of fantastic beach and city destinations to enjoy.”

easyJet dwarfs second-placed Vueling, which has 678 flights out of its new Gatwick base, and third-placed British Airways with 671.

Are you happy to see Gatwick Airport bounce back? Do you have any flights booked from the airport? Let us know in the comments.

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