The second-largest airport in the London and South East area – Gatwick Airport – is to consolidate its operations at the airport and reduce the runway opening times.
The move comes after a drop in traffic thanks to Covid-19/Coronavirus/Human Malware.
Gatwick Airport from above – Image, Gatwick Airport.
Passenger operations at Gatwick Airport will be consolidated on the South Terminal of the airport.
Whilst this would be a dramatic move for the airport, the airport has taken further action – and that is to allow its single runway to be used between 1400 and 2200 for scheduled flights.
Outside these hours, the runway will handle emergency landings and diversions.
Both of these measures go into effect from Wednesday 1st April 2020 and is expected to last a month, with the situation kept under review.
In terms of the North Terminal, the temporary closure of it will last a minimum of one month and the situation will be kept under regular review.
A decision on reopening the North Terminal when airline traffic increases and Government public health advice – including on social distancing – is relaxed.
Passenger Impact
If you’ve got a denature out of London Gatwick on or after the 1st April, and not during the stated operating hours of 14:00 to 22:00, you will need to contact your airline directly to find out how you will be accommodated.
For those who less impacted, you will need to depart and arrive at the South Terminal. Note, that train connections onwards are limited, and the UK Lockdown is still in progress.
In Quotes
Stewart Wingate, Chief Executive, Gatwick Airport, said:
“Gatwick is a resilient but also responsible business and during these extraordinary times we need to take unprecedented measures to protect the health and wellbeing of our staff and passengers, while also shielding the business from the impact of Coronavirus.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my staff for their continuing hard work through this difficult time and to reassure them that we are taking these difficult decisions now, so that we are in a position to recover quickly and get back to generating jobs and economic benefits for the region and wider economy well into the future.
“During these extraordinary times, we have also seen remarkable acts of kindness and community spirit in support of people who may need some additional help. To add to this, we will also be providing some opportunities so that any of our staff, who have time during this period of reduced operations, that choose to, can help support people in our local communities.”
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Does anyone want to guess when all ops will be normal- July, August?
Right now.. who knows…?
yeah Gatwick airport is England’s 2nd and Europe’s 8th liveliest airport. No one knows that when this virus will come to an end.