Gatwick airport has swung into a £321m loss amid the pandemic.
Due to a 66% fall in passengers for the six months ending 30 June, the UK’s second-busiest airport revenues plunged from £372m last year to £144m.
As the aviation industry has taken a hit across the world, Gatwick’s numbers highlight the damage the pandemic has really caused.
Passenger numbers in the first six months of 2020 were just 7.5m – compared to the 22m from the same period in 2019. According to Gatwick airport, it will take up to five years to return to normal levels.
As a result, the airport announced plans to cut 600 jobs as part of a restructuring to survive the effects of the pandemic. Gatwick airport has already cut staff this year from 3,046 to 2,515.
Stewart Wingate, the chief executive of Gatwick airport, said: “The negative impact of Covid-19 on our passenger numbers and air traffic at the start of the year was dramatic and, although there are small signs of recovery, it is a trend we expect to continue to see.
As with any responsible company we have protected our financial resilience by significantly reducing our operational costs and capital expenditure.”
Gatwick is not the only airport to have revealed a drastic drop in revenue over 2020. Heathrow airport revealed a £1bn loss for the first six months of 2020.
Heathrow’s chief executive has called for a passenger testing regime.
“As many of our customers have experienced, it’s difficult to plan a holiday that way, let alone run a business,” said John Holland-Kaye.
“Testing offers a way to safely open up travel and trade to some of the UK’s biggest markets which currently remain closed. Our European competitors are racing ahead with passenger testing; if the UK doesn’t act soon, global Britain will be nothing more than a campaign slogan.”
