London Gatwick under a cloud as carriers threaten to quit airport
Less than two weeks ago, Gatwick’s CE was talking about flights restarting by the end of this month as the UK’s second-biggest airport plotted its recovery from the pandemic that has hit the aviation industry hard. Stewart Wingate said that, based on what he had seen as some countries eased the lockdown in Asia, he was hoping for “some meaningful volume coming through the airport by the end of May and start to ramp up volumes in June and then July”. But the mood has darkened at the airport in the past week. Virgin Atlantic said it was closing its operations just days after BA, Gatwick’s second-biggest carrier, also threatened to walk away. Between them the two airlines serve more than 70 routes. Such a dramatic loss of services raises the prospect of higher fares for consumers — 46m used the airport last year — pushing up the costs of holidays. “One of the main reasons that UK air ticket prices are so keen is the intense competition in the industry and any reduction in competition will not work in the favour of the customer, impacting on both prices and choice,” said Luke Petherbridge, head of public affairs at ABTA, which represents UK travel agents. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2020-05-07/general/london-gatwick-under-a-cloud-as-carriers-threaten-to-quit-airport
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London Gatwick under a cloud as carriers threaten to quit airport
Less than two weeks ago, Gatwick’s CE was talking about flights restarting by the end of this month as the UK’s second-biggest airport plotted its recovery from the pandemic that has hit the aviation industry hard. Stewart Wingate said that, based on what he had seen as some countries eased the lockdown in Asia, he was hoping for “some meaningful volume coming through the airport by the end of May and start to ramp up volumes in June and then July”. But the mood has darkened at the airport in the past week. Virgin Atlantic said it was closing its operations just days after BA, Gatwick’s second-biggest carrier, also threatened to walk away. Between them the two airlines serve more than 70 routes. Such a dramatic loss of services raises the prospect of higher fares for consumers — 46m used the airport last year — pushing up the costs of holidays. “One of the main reasons that UK air ticket prices are so keen is the intense competition in the industry and any reduction in competition will not work in the favour of the customer, impacting on both prices and choice,” said Luke Petherbridge, head of public affairs at ABTA, which represents UK travel agents. <br/>
