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Gatwick airport has said it expects passenger numbers this year to remain below their pre-pandemic peak as a shift towards longer tourist flights means airlines are using the UK’s second-busiest airport less intensively.
The London airport on Thursday said it expected to handle 44.3mn passengers this year, up from 43.2mn in 2024. The figure is below the 46.6mn who used the airport in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic swept through the aviation industry.
Stewart Wingate, Gatwick’s chief executive, insisted that flying demand was strong and that all the take-off and landing slots at the busiest times at the airport were taken.
However, Gatwick was quieter than before the pandemic during some parts of the day, Wingate added. He attributed the change to a shift by airlines towards flying longer routes, which meant they could cram fewer flights into each day.
“What we are finding on our European network is that the airlines tend to fly longer sector lengths than before the pandemic . . . such as to Greece or north Africa,” Wingate said. “As a result, particularly in the middle of the day, there is less intensive use of the runway.”
Some other big UK airports have already recorded higher passenger numbers than their pre-pandemic peaks. London’s Heathrow airport reported record passenger numbers in 2024, as did London Stansted and Manchester airports.
However, Gatwick said it had experienced “significant growth” in long-haul services in 2024, including services to China, Africa, India and the Middle East.
Wingate said he was also in talks with Virgin Atlantic about a possible return to Gatwick, after the long-haul only airline moved all its operations to Heathrow airport during the pandemic.
Gatwick reported a 9 per cent year-on-year rise in profit after tax to £342.9mn in 2024, after revenue rose 11 per cent to £1.1bn.
The airport has outlined plans to expand passenger capacity by bringing its standby runway into regular use.
This second full-time runway would enable the airport to handle a total of up to 75mn passengers a year by the late 2030s.
Last month, the UK government signalled it would approve a second runway if the airport made changes to its plans as recommended by the Planning Inspectorate. The watchdog demanded improved noise mitigation for local residents and better public transport access.
Wingate said he remained confident the airport would be able to fill the extra capacity.
“For the first time in a generation, we would be able to start to release peak hourly slots at Gatwick, and we know they are sought after,” he said.
He added that he was “encouraged by the amount of common ground” with the government but cautioned that the Planning Inspectorate’s requirements, especially around public transport, would be “challenging” for the airport.
The government body has demanded that Gatwick adopt a legally binding target of at least 55 per cent of passengers annually arriving at the airport by public transport — in line with current patterns. Gatwick said it did not want the target to be legally binding, particularly as it had no control over public transport to the airport.
Wingate said: “We can’t invest £2.2bn and then for whatever reason not be certain we can get utility out the asset we have invested in . . . we are currently working on making alternative proposals to the government.”
