London Gatwick Airport to reopen mothballed terminal in March

London’s Gatwick Airport will reopen its second terminal as easing Covid-19 restrictions give airlines confidence to add flights amid a budding travel rebound. 

The south terminal, mothballed nearly two years ago to cut costs, will help meet expected strong demand this summer, Gatwick said in an emailed statement. It will open on March 27, three weeks before Easter, the unofficial start of the high season.

The move coincides with the return of British Airways short-haul services through a new, lower cost subsidiary called BA EuroFlyer. Budget carrier Wizz Air Holdings Plc is also bolstering its presence at Gatwick after acquiring 15 pairs of daily operating slots. EasyJet Plc, the hub’s biggest operator, has said that it will pour in capacity as demand rises this summer. 

Gatwick, which caters mainly to leisure passengers, has endured a difficult two years as the U.K.’s ever-changing travel rules kept would-be holidaymakers at home. The outlook has shifted since the start of the year, as European nations move toward border rules based on vaccination status, giving travelers more certainty and eliminating extra testing costs.  

The hub, which was Europe’s 10th busiest in terms of passengers in 2019, dropped to 35 last year with just over 6 million passengers. 

Employers at Gatwick, who slashed jobs during the pandemic, are hiring over 2,000 people to handle the increased volume, including security officers, IT specialists, engineers, shop and restaurant workers, ground and cargo handlers and cabin crew.

Larger London Heathrow Airport reopened its second runway and the third of four terminals in July. It said separately Friday that passenger numbers remained 56% lower than pre-pandemic levels in January, as the outbreak of the omicron variant continued to hurt passenger confidence.

The hub maintained its full-year forecast for just over half of pre-pandemic traffic, saying strong demand for outbound summer holidays should offset the weaker start to the year.