Gatwick bosses fear demand for flying won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025, as coronavirus continues to hit the aviation industry hard.
Passenger numbers at the West Sussex airport fell by two-thirds in the first half of the year compared with 2019, plummeting from 22.2 million to 7.5 million, it was announced today.
The industry was crippled earlier this year as non-essential travel was banned during the peak of the Covid crisis.
Just 200,000 people flew into UK airports each month during April, May and June as thousands had to cancel holidays and remain at home in lockdown.
The opening of ‘air bridges’ to dozens of countries around the world in recent weeks then saw air traffic increase six-fold in July, though the 1.3 million arrivals represents just a tenth of the number who flew into Britain 12 months previously.
A glimmer of hope was provided for Gatwick, however, which also announced a 61.3 per cent drop in revenue and a £321m loss, as Wizz Air announced it is to open a new base at the airport.
Gatwick bosses fear demand for flying won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025, as coronavirus continues to hit the aviation industry hard
A glimmer of hope was provided for Gatwick, however, as Wizz Air announced it is to open a new base at the airport
Gatwick’s announcement today comes amid a difficult period for the aviation industry in which:
- The number of passengers flying into the UK rose six-fold in July – but arrivals are just a TENTH of total who landed in July 2019
- Gatwick Airport is planning to axe up to 600 jobs in ‘significant restructure’
- Salvage crews pick apart once-mighty 747 jumbo jets after BA retired its entire 31-strong fleet
- Most of America will remain ‘red listed’ despite plans for an ‘air bridge’ between London and New York moving closer
- Business chief warns the worst is yet to come for UK firms if they don’t get ongoing support once the furlough scheme ends
Gatwick released its half-year results today after announcing on Wednesday that 600 jobs – around a quarter of its workforce – would be cut across areas including corporate staff, security and those working on airfields and terminals.
This is on top of 785 who have already left, mostly through voluntary redundancies, but neither figure includes people working in shops and restaurants on site, who are employed directly by each of those companies.
The airport said in a statement today that the recovery to pre-pandemic traffic levels ‘is forecast to be four to five years’.
Chief executive Stewart Wingate said: ‘Like any other international airport, 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.
‘However, we are focused on ensuring the business remains robust and is best placed to take advantage of future growth.
‘As with any responsible company we have protected our financial resilience by significantly reducing our operational costs and capital expenditure.’
Home Office figures released this week showed that while arrivals rose in July to 1.3 million, this was down massively on 11.1 million the year before.
The impact of declining passenger numbers has also seen budget airline easyJet annouce closures of its bases in Stansted, Southend and Newcastle in a cost-cutting drive – as Ryanair reduced its flight capacity by a fifth.
Meanwhile British Airways, which grounded its Gatwick fleet in March following the outbreak of Covid-19, had said that all short-haul flights from Gatwick will be consolidated into Heathrow until at least September.
BA itself announced it would be forced to cut hundreds of jobs at Gatwick in a bid to stay afloat during the fallout of the coronavirus.
It comes after Airbus, Europe’s biggest aircraft maker, announced plans to slash nearly 15,000 jobs across its global operations – including 1,700 in the UK.
Paul Charles, the chief executive of the PC Agency travel consultancy, told MailOnline last week: ‘The government’s quarantine policy is scarring the UK economy now and the dogged pursuit of that policy is hurting the travel sector.’
Passenger numbers at the West Sussex airport fell by two-thirds in the first half of the year compared with 2019, plummeting from 22.2 million to 7.5 million, it was announced today
Gatwick boss Mr Wingate revealed that despite the collapse in demand for air travel, the airport is pressing ahead with plans to use its emergency runway for routine flights.
It is seeking permission to bring the airstrip into full passenger use.
Gatwick lost out to Heathrow in a bid to obtain Government approval to build an additional runway in October 2016, amid a need for more airport capacity in the South East.
Mr Wingate said: ‘In this post Covid-19 travelling world, we are working hard with our airlines to ensure we continue to offer our customers a wide choice of destinations and carriers.
‘We also expect, next year, to progress our plans to bring the existing northern (stand-by) runway into routine use which, as we rebuild our passenger numbers over the next four to five years, will enable us to offer even more travel choice.
‘We will ensure we continue to deliver our operation mindful of our environmental, social and governance responsibilities.
‘We want to rebuild better.’
In better news for Gatwick, Wizz Air announced last week it would become its third base, alongside London Luton and Doncaster Sheffield.
The airline will allocate an Airbus A321 aircraft to the Sussex hub and launch four new routes to leisure destinations in Greece, Italy, Spain and Malta from October.
Managing director Owain Jones said: ‘Already the fourth largest airline group operating in the UK, this announcement of our new Gatwick base and four new routes reinforces Wizz Air UK’s position as a British airline that is growing, creating new jobs, bringing much-needed connectivity to the UK and so helping the economy get back in the air.’
Gatwick boss Mr Wingate added: ‘This is encouraging news for Gatwick, particularly at a time when the industry has been so negatively impacted by COVID-19.
‘Having a new aircraft based at Gatwick underpins the resilience of our business for the long-term and ensures we continue to offer our passengers great choice.
‘This is a welcome indication of the positive conversations we are having with airlines – both existing and new – about securing Gatwick’s future.’
Wizz Air’s managing director Owain Jones said its new Gatwick base ‘reinforces Wizz Air UK’s position as a British airline that is growing, creating new jobs, bringing much-needed connectivity to the UK and so helping the economy get back in the air’
Gatwick boss Mr Wingate revealed that despite the collapse in demand for air travel, the airport is pressing ahead with plans to use its emergency runway for routine flights
Meanwhile, an air bridge could be set up between London and New York to allow Britons to avoid quarantine, it emerged this week – but the rest of the US will remain ‘red listed’ due to the high number of Covid-19 cases.
Anyone arriving in Britain from the US has to quarantine for two weeks, under rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The reopening of the route would help rescue airlines that rely on trans-Atlantic travel.
Proposals are at very early stages. But if they get the go-ahead, New York could become the UK’s first ‘regional travel corridor’ destination.
This would open the floodgates to winter holidays in America and help thousands of British businesses that rely on US visitors.
Elsewhere, airline salvage workers have begun to break up Boeing 747 jets in the Gloucestershire countryside as British Airways retires its whole 31-strong fleet of the large passenger jets amid a plunge in global air travel.
It comes as ministers were warned today that businesses and workers will need months more financial assistance to avoid a second economic ‘hurricane’ in the autumn and winter.
British Chambers of Commerce director general Adam Marshall warned that a second storm after the furlough scheme ends in October could be worse than the original impact of the lockdown in the spring and summer.
The BA boneyard: Sad scenes as salvage crews pick apart once-mighty 747 jumbo jets at UK airfield after airline retired its entire 31-strong fleet due to plunge in air travel
Airline salvage workers have begun to break up Boeing 747 jets in the Gloucestershire countryside as British Airways retires its whole 31-strong fleet of the large passenger jets amid a plunge in global air travel.
The four planes – G-BYGF, G-CIVL, G-CIVL and G-CIVN – are being scrapped and dismantled by a specialist team from Air Salvage International (ASI) at Cotswold Airport outside Kemble as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Photographs taken yesterday showed the engines on some of the 747-400s having been removed at the former Royal Air Force site, which is also home to various flying schools and was once the Red Arrows base.
This week G-BYGF became the fourth BA plane to retire to Kemble, landing in front of a group of planespotters having completed a 24-minute flight from London Heathrow and a loop of the villages around Kemble.
BA is retiring all of its 747 planes amid a continuing crisis for air travel after severe travel restrictions were brought in around the world when the Covid-19 crisis intensified across Europe in March.
Photographs taken yesterday show the engines on some British Airways 747-400s have been removed at Cotswold Airport
Four British Airways 747-400s are being stored at the airport near Kemble in Gloucestershire after being retired by BA
The four planes are being scrapped and dismantled by a specialist team from Air Salvage International at Cotswold Airport
BA is retiring all of its 747 planes amid a continuing crisis for air travel after severe travel restrictions were brought in globally
The jets are being sent worldwide for storage and scrapping, with G-CIVD leaving Heathrow earlier this month for Castellon in Spain. Seven of the BA fleet remain at Heathrow, which is where the Kemble planes had been based.
Fourteen of the BA fleet are being stored 70 miles away at Cardiff Airport, including one in the historic livery of Boac (British Overseas Airways Corporation) which was the airline’s predecessor.
A further five in the fleet are being stored at Teruel Airport in Spain. Earlier this month, BA chief executive Alex Cruz said: ‘We are starting the early retirement of our beautiful 747-400s as part of the reshaping of our airline.’
In a letter to staff, the 54-year-old added: ‘This is a necessary move reflecting the cliff-edge drop in premium long-haul travel, which may never recover to the levels we saw in 2019.
‘If these were normal times, we would be celebrating the retirement of the Queens of the Skies with a great deal of noise including special commemorative flights and colleague events.
Airline salvage workers have begun to break up the British Airways Boeing 747 jets in the Gloucestershire countryside
British Airways is retiring its whole 31-strong fleet of the large passenger jets amid a plunge in global air travel
BA staff and plane enthusiasts are said to be keen for souvenirs from the jets, four of which are in storage at Cotswold Airport
‘Sadly, given the difficulty of operating during the pandemic, the farewell will be less lavish, but still heartfelt.
‘I know many of you will join me in fond remembrance of these remarkable aircraft that have served us and our customers so well. There will never again be anything quite like them.’
BA staff and plane enthusiasts are said to be keen for souvenirs from the jets, with ASI owner Mark Gregory saying the firm is receiving many inquiries from people keen to own a part from one of the jets.
He told the BBC: ‘I get a daily stream of emails from BA staff and 747 fanatics who want to buy a piece of a plane. A cut-out side section is popular which can be hung on the wall.
‘These usually go for about £200 each. They are good aircraft and have done a lot of hours. They have definitely earned their keep.’
The British Airways Boeing 747-400 G-CIVU passenger aircraft lands at London Heathrow Airport on July 14, 2018
(From left) Elysa Marsden, Toni Richards and Olivia Welch walk in front of a 747 at London Heathrow Airport in March 2019
Mr Gregory added that there has been a ten-fold increase in airlines looking for storage facilities, with the company having 11 747s parked up, with some being dismantled and others going up for sale.
He said engines make up around 80 per cent of the value of a retired plane, with some selling for more than £2million, although the Rolls-Royce ones on the BA 747-400s are expected to sell for less.
The 747-400s, which can take up to 15 weeks to dismantle, first began flying more than 30 years ago. Boeing sold almost 700 of the jets, which made them the best-selling version of the long-haul airliner.
ASI, which has 170,000 sq ft of hangarage at the airport, has space for up to 20 wide and 50 narrow bodied commercial aircraft and has disassembled nearly 600 around the world in its 18 years of operations.
It comes as Gatwick Airport has cut one in four of its workforce or 600 posts – taking the number of jobs lost at big British firms since the pandemic past 252,000.
And airplane manufacturing giant Rolls Royce has announced it would close a major UK site in Annesley, Nottinghamshire, by the end of 2022 – weeks after announcing 9,000 job cuts.
A Boeing 747 jumbo jet is pictured next to the Concorde airliner at New York’s John F Kennedy Airport in October 1978
The arrival on the world stage of the giant Boeing 747 in 1969 ushered in a new era of air travel. One is pictured above in 1971
The travel sector is not expected to recover until 2023 as fears over quarantine and catching the virus push tourists to stay at home.
However, the Mail has learned Britons will be allowed to visit New York without having to quarantine on their return under plans being drawn up by UK and US officials.
The re-opening of the Heathrow to New York route – the world’s most profitable air link – would help rescue long-haul airlines that rely heavily on trans-Atlantic travel, including BA and Virgin Atlantic.
However, industry sources say US officials are likely to insist on Covid-19 testing at British airports before they agree to re-open their borders.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has repeatedly played down the idea of airport testing, claiming swab tests would fail to spot almost 90 per cent of asymptomatic cases.
But in a growing revolt, more than 80 MPs – including 40 Tories – have warned that failure to endorse airport testing will have a disastrous impact on the travel industry and wider economy.