Building strong foundations for a bright future

We are wrapping up our busiest summer since 2019 here at London Gatwick, with 4.7 million passengers travelling in August. As we transition into autumn, it’s a good time to reflect on how the airport has developed over the past 12 months.

Our proudest achievements included welcoming 新加坡航空 to Gatwick for the first time. Just last night we attended an event to celebrate their 100th flight and announcement they would start flying daily from April 2025. It’s always wonderful to see an airline be hugely successful from the start and grow so quickly. Air India Limited continued expansion was another highlight for LGW with the launch of a new route to Bangalore in August.

But the truth is London Gatwick’s network development never stops. Just two weeks ago, Gatwick was announced as first base for Wizz Air brand new A321 XLR (Extra Long Range) aircraft, as the airline seeks to unlock more routes to the Middle East and Asia. Starting from March 2025, the new aircraft will allow non-stop flights from Gatwick to Jeddah for highly competitive fares.

On 12 September, Norse Atlantic Airways latest service - connecting London Gatwick to Las Vegas – began operating; this is the seventh destination on the airline’s network, which includes New York, Orlando and Los Angeles.

Over the past year alone, we’ve launched an impressive 30 new routes at London Gatwick – twice the number seen in 2023 - meaning our passengers have been able to choose from 225 destinations, served by 54 airlines, this summer.

Of these, more than a quarter are long-haul services, with new routes including Beijing and Guangzhou in China, Singapore, and Halifax and St John’s in Canada joining exiting destinations across the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa.

Now already looking ahead to the winter season, we will soon be welcoming new routes to Islamabad and Bangkok, the launch of low-cost services to Cape Town, and more fantastic short-haul winter destinations.

Putting in the legwork

But these new routes don’t appear overnight – months (often years) of hard work happens before the exciting announcement goes live. We never stop developing and cultivating relationships with airlines, looking for opportunities, and supporting our operational colleagues as airlines get ready to launch services.

Part of that work is making the effort and travelling to promote London Gatwick around the globe. Myself and London Gatwick’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jonathan Pollard , travelled to India to meet with a number of airlines and airports at the CAPA India Aviation Summit.

My colleague, Jennifer Newman , attended the IATA Slot Conference, while David Bell represented London Gatwick at Routes Asia in Langkawi and Routes Americas earlier this year. We will soon be travelling to Routes World too where we are shortlisted for ‘Best Airport over 20 Million Passengers’ category for the first time in London Gatwick’s history.

Alongside these opportunities at industry events, we’ve also been clocking up the air miles to meet with current and prospective airlines in China, Latin America and the Middle East to discuss potential exciting new developments at London Gatwick – I won’t say anymore on that just yet but more good news to come very soon.

Putting in the legwork to develop our long-haul connectivity, particularly in key markets across the US and Asia, is an integral part of our ongoing strategy at London Gatwick.

Should we be successful in our plans to bring our existing Northern Runway into routine use, we will be able to expand our long-haul offer even further, providing critical new capacity in the world’s most constrained market. A larger London Gatwick will provide vital trade connections for businesses across London and the South East, opportunities for inbound tourism and, of course, choice and competition for fantastic holiday destinations.

Why the US and Asia?

While we are growing our long-haul offer across multiple continents, our primary focus is on Asian and US markets.

This is in part due to the strong potential for growth we have identified, but also the high value of passengers, the reduced impact of seasonal travel, and the benefits to London and the South East through trade opportunities.

We now operate 33 weekly services to China, compared to 10 per week in 2019, with an almost 500% year-on-year growth in passenger volumes to and from the country, which is incredible. In total, London Gatwick offers passengers more than 90 flights every week to Asia and the Middle East, with more on route this year.???

Meanwhile, we have almost doubled capacity to New York’s JFK year-on-year with four competing carriers, and we have seen a 30% increase in capacity on Orlando and Las Vegas services too.

The pull of London Gatwick

Since 2021, we have welcomed more than 15 new long-haul carriers to London Gatwick, including the likes of JetBlue, Norse Atlantic, Delta, Air China, Air India, China Southern, China Eastern, Saudia and now, Singapore Airlines.

Among London Gatwick’s main selling points for new carriers are:

• 2nd largest airport in London- Access to the largest aviation market in the world at a very competitive price point
• Largest catchment in the UK- More than 15million people live within 60 minutes of London Gatwick
• Significant investment in our infrastructure- Refurbished North Terminal with exciting new retail and F&B offerings
• Best rail connections to Central London- Access in under 30 minutes to central London and popular tourist landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament
• Excellent passenger experience- We are the airport for everyone whatever your journey
• Future Growth- The only airport with deliverable?expansion plans allowing for growth

As proud as I am of the team and everything we have accomplished this year, my focus remains firmly on the future. The work continues on a daily basis to help LGW grow. We’ll soon be preparing to welcome more new routes this year, and having more exciting conversations ahead of summer ‘25 and beyond, to continue offering passengers across London and the South East fantastic choice and travel opportunities from London Gatwick.