London Gatwick’s route network close to pre-pandemic levels

London Gatwick’s recovery from the pandemic is gathering pace with the airport now offering flights to almost 90% of the destinations it served in October 2019.

This translates to 172 destinations being served from Gatwick during the upcoming school holiday period, compared to 197 in the same period in 2019 (87%).

Top destinations for half-term getaways include Dublin, Barcelona and Malaga, while Dubai, New York and Orlando top the long-haul charts.

At the end of half-term, Gatwick will be welcoming new airline Bamboo Airways, with a new route to Hanoi, Vietnam.

In other good news, JetBlue is also adding a second daily service to New York – which is one of over 50 weekly flights to the US currently on offer from Gatwick.

The airport notes that passengers will also be able to enjoy “Gatwick’s fantastic range of retail options” that include new Lego stores in each terminal, which opened in July, alongside other top brands such as Ted Baker, Hugo Boss, Superdry, Harrods, Hamleys and World Duty Free.

London Gatwick’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jonathan Pollard, said: “We are really excited to see the number of destinations we fly to almost returning to pre-Covid levels for the October half-term.

“The summer was incredibly busy, and we took steps to provide more certainty for passengers, including recruiting more than 400 new security staff, so we are well resourced for half-term and beyond.

“It’s great to see our departure lounges busy again with people eager to jet off and enjoy our fantastic range of destinations, across Europe and further afield.”