British Airways is set to resume flights from its second hub, London Gatwick, next weekend. The airline will initially only resume flights to Caribbean holiday destinations from the airport over two weeks. On March 31st, it was announced that the airline would be suspending its Gatwick operations.
Across the industry, signs of recovery can be found left, right, and center. One thing that will surely be welcomed by many is the resumption of long-haul flights from London Gatwick Airport by British Airways. There had been concern that British Airways would close its London Gatwick hub earlier this year.
Stay informed: Sign up for our daily aviation news digest.
Five routes returning
British Airways will initially be reactivating five long-haul routes from July 18th. The routes will be staggered in their return over two weeks, as follows:
- Barbados – Flights will resume on Tuesdays and Saturdays from July 18th
- Bermuda – Flights will restart on Mondays and Fridays from July 20th
- St Lucia – Flights will resume on Tuesdays and Saturdays from July 25th (excluding July 28th)
- Kingston – Flights will restart on Mondays and Fridays from July 27th
- Antigua – Flights will resume on Wednesday and Saturday from August 1st
Above is the initial schedule as per British Airways’ booking engine. However, some frequencies may increase, with more routes potentially being added.
Only long-haul
Only long-haul flights are returning to London Gatwick for the time being. The airline’s short-haul operations will continue to be based at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 for the time being. However, the airline is today resuming international flights from London City Airport, operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, BA CityFlyer.
Commenting on British Airways’ return to London Gatwick, a British Airways spokesperson told Simple Flying,
“We’re looking forward to starting a small number of long haul services from Gatwick in mid-July. Throughout July and August, we’ll be consolidating our Gatwick and Heathrow short-haul flying to operate form our Heathrow base. This enables us to drive operational and cost efficiencies across our business at a time when demand is yet to return and international travel restrictions remain in place.”
Gatwick: A changed airport
Gatwick will remain an immensely changed airport for the time being due to the current pandemic. British Airways rival, Virgin Atlantic, has said that it won’t return to Gatwick, its home for the past 36 years. With the airport lacking short-haul services from British Airways, a significant portion of its traffic is currently missing.
This even led to Gatwick Airport being quieter than both London Stansted and even London Luton during the height of the pandemic. Hopefully, operators such as British Airways will continue to beef up their schedule at the airport.
Are you excited to see British Airways’ red, white, and blue tails return to its second London home? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!
