Just as the old Avis commercials used to promise—”We’re Number 2, We Try Harder,” London’s Gatwick Airport has been working hard at sweeping up new business, with seven more airlines flying in this year, following five that arrived last year.
Among the most significant additions is Jet2, a major leisure carrier, which will establish a base at Gatwick, bringing 300 jobs. Air France is arriving, too, with a route to Paris starting in March, and two German carriers, Eurowings and Condor will join in April with several routes to Germany. Long-haul routes to be added include Beijing Capital Airlines, which will fly to Gatwick from Qingdao, and Air Arabia which will fly from the UAE. The remaining new carrier is AnimaWings, a Romanian carrier with flights to Bucharest.
Gatwick has been approved to open a second runway, which will support even more expansion. It’s a relatively light lift; Gatwick already has a full-length emergency runway which will be shifted a few yards north, allowing more separation from the main runway so it can be used simultaneously.
