British Airways to double operations at Gatwick Airport
British Airways is planning to double its operations at Gatwick, instead of more at Heathrow. It is keen to compete against Heathrow. BA is understood to be planning to increase the number of aircraft based at Gatwick from 14 to between 24 and 28 in the next few years. Airlines are annoyed at the high level of landing charges, per passenger, at Heathrow as well as the problems of not having enough staff this summer. BA wants to grow (like all airlines – they have no Plan B) and intends that to be at Gatwick, for the time being. BA was among a number of airlines to decrease its presence at Gatwick, Britain’s second-busiest airport, during the pandemic. Arch-rival Virgin Atlantic moved its operations to Heathrow. BA returned to Gatwick last year with the launch of Euroflyer, a cut-price short-haul subsidiary that would operate independently in a similar vein to Cityflyer, which runs BA flights from London City Airport. .Tweet British Airways to double operations at Gatwick Airport Airline plans to increase planes based at Sussex site from 14 to as many as 28 By Oliver Gill, CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (Telegraph) 27 November 2022 British Airways is planning to double its operations at Gatwick as a long-running row with Heathrow sours relations with bosses at Britain’s busiest airport. The UK flag carrier is to increase flights from the Sussex airport instead of expanding operations at Heathrow. BA is understood to be planning to increase the number of aircraft based at Gatwick from 14 to between 24 and 28 in the coming years. The plans come amid discontentment among airlines operating out of Heathrow. The airport was forced to cap passenger numbers during the summer to prevent a repeat of the chaos that blighted many airports since the Easter holidays. Heathrow bosses are also lobbying the aviation regulator to increase landing charges – fees that are passed on to customers. One senior source said: “Our growth will be at Gatwick rather
