The green shoots of recovery are starting to appear at London/Gatwick as the West Sussex airport recorded a reduction in its annual losses while it sets its sights on a strong summer ahead.
Figures for the year ending December 31, 2021 showed annual losses of £370.6m – an improvement compared to the £465.5m loss recorded the year before.
Bosses attributed the optimistic progress to an “encouraging end to 2021” as traveller numbers at the South East England gateway exceeded the million mark in August, September, October, and December, despite frequent changes to travel restrictions, plus the emergence of the Omicron variant.
It said that thanks to previous actions implemented back in 2020, such as consolidating all passenger and air traffic into the North Terminal, the impact of reduced customers numbers was offset and, in turn, was able to “maximise the benefits of a stronger second half” to 2021.
Stewart Wingate, CEO, Gatwick Airport, said: “As it was for many airports, 2021 was a difficult year for Gatwick but, despite constantly changing travel restrictions and the emerging Omicron variant, we managed to end the year strongly and reduced our losses compared to the previous year.”
During 2021, Gatwick handled…
