Gatwick Business Update – December 2022

Gatwick has finally started making its way past the pandemic. Operations have returned to normal for the most part, passenger numbers are increasing along with the domestic, European & long haul route network, and in the new year there are capacity increases to North America and New destinations being made available.  A successful year just past, and and exciting year to come for Gatwick Business!

Here is a list of the key updates from the previous year, and what you can expect to see in the future:

Airlines and Routes

Gatwick served 157 short-haul destinations this summer, 96% compared to 2019 and 35 long-haul destinations, 60% compared to 2019.  New long-haul routes recently announced include:

• British Airways to the USA, the Caribbean and South Africa
• jetBlue has expanded its network from Gatwick, with Boston and an additional daily to New YorkDelta Air Lines will begin a daily New York service
• Bamboo Airways has started two new routes in winter 2022 to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
• Emirates have added a third daily flight to Dubai bringing capacity back to pre-pandemic levels
• Norse Atlantic launched their New York service in August, with further routes to be announced

The Local Economy

• The Inaugural Gatwick Airport Economic Summit was held in November with representatives from across the region discussing economic growth, skills, placemaking, international trade and inward investment. A key focus of the event looked at how the region could better define and promote its economic identity, compete for inward investment, attract new, diverse industries and jobs, and secure its long-term economic prosperity.
• The Summit builds on the work carried out to explore how Gatwick and the surrounding area can best be promoted as an Airport Economic Zone. You can read more here.

Local Community

• The Gatwick Foundation Fund has re-opened for applications to support community projects across Sussex, Surrey and Kent, administered by the Community Founda
• tions in each county.
• Gatwick have supported a number of community events over the summer period, including Horsham Children’s Parade and Crawley Pride.
• The Airport continues to support local education and skills initiatives promoting careers and opportunities at the airport and in the surrounding community, including the Learn Live programme. The Learn Live broadcast earlier this year that featured the reopening of South Terminal received 5,944 live views and amassed a further 3,699 on demand views.

Northern Runway Project

• The Summer 2022 targeted statutory consultation on the improved highway design and other project updates in respect of the Northern Runway project closed on 27 July. With more than 550 responses received it indicated a good degree of engagement from the target audience.
• Engagement with Local Authorities continues as Gatwick considers the consultation responses and ahead of the Development Consent Order (DCO) submission.

The Passenger Experience

• Gatwick has worked collaboratively with ground handlers and airlines on bridging resource gaps by offering contingent resource and incentives. Extensive investment in staffing, a strong focus on service and proactively managing capacity during July and August to help airlines operate published schedules has contributed to 93% of Gatwick’s Core Service Standard metrics being met during this period.

• Following strong demand, Gatwick has revised its traffic forecasts for 2022 to 32.8m passengers as a result of increased demand.

Sustainability

• In July the Government published its ‘Jet Zero’ policy for aviation to achieve net zero by 2050. The policy recognises the importance of the aviation sector to the UK economy but also sets out how to secure a more sustainable future and the importance of a green transition. Government will support airport growth where it can be delivered within its environmental obligations and has also given a commitment to review its strategy every 5 years. Whilst it recognises that decarbonising aviation will be a challenge, the Government has one of the most ambitious climate change targets in the world and the strategy sets out its vision for decarbonising aviation, focusing on the rapid development of technologies in a way that maintains the benefits of air travel, whilst maximizing the opportunities that decarbonization can bring for the UK.
• Gatwick will be producing a carbon action plan as part of its Northern Runway project and detailed planning has already begun in terms of reducing GAL’s Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions as well as identifying opportunities for reduction in waste generation and potable water consumption.

Investment

• The Main Runway resurfacing project works completed at the end of September with minimal disruption to local residents and the airport operation. The runway has now had its design life extended by 7 years and the reduction in asphalt (from only resurfacing the most “trafficked” parts) allowed a significant saving of embodied carbon. All of the old asphalt material was recycled as aggregate in road construction, and the temporary on-site asphalt batching plant reduced lorry travel distance and emissions.
• The Airport invested in a light refurbishment of the North Terminal Domestic Facility area.
• The Gatwick Rail Station project continues to progress well, and the works are now due to be complete in summer 2023.

Check out more local news updates here.