London Gatwick Airport reports strong recovery in 2022
Gatwick Airport returned to a profit of US$240.6 million in 2022, after losses in 2020 and 2021
London's Gatwick Airport has published its financial results for 2022, reporting passenger demand at 70.4% of pre-pandemic levels, with 32.8 million passengers passing through the airport in the year ending December 31, 2022.
According to a news release, the airport reported revenue of £776.6 million ($US950.8 million), including aeronautical income, retail income and car parking income. Gatwick returned to a profit of £196.5 million (US$240.6 million) in 2022, after over £830 million (US$1.02 billion) of losses from 2020 and 2021.
Despite returning to profitability the airport remains "cautiously optimistic" about a full recovery, given the current economic uncertainty.
"London Gatwick’s short haul network was the first to show strong recovery in 2022 and now serves 156 destinations, with easyJet flying 72% of those routes. Short haul is at 92% of flights flown pre-pandemic, while long-haul connectivity is taking longer to recover but has bounced back robustly in recent months, and now boasts 47 long haul routes - 76% of the number flown pre-pandemic."
Stewart Wingate, Chief Executive Officer, London Gatwick Airport, said, “The decisive actions we took early last year allowed us to offer good levels of service to passengers who traveled through Gatwick. Thank you to all colleagues across our airport, who supported the operation last year as travel restrictions eased and passengers started to travel. This year we will have even more choice of airlines and destinations for travelers, whether flying for business or leisure.
“While we still have some way to go to reach a full recovery, we know long-term sustainable investment is critical to the future of our airport and provides a significant boost to the regional and national economy. This year we are pushing forward with a number of projects to improve resilience and the overall passenger experience, including preparing our planning application to bring the existing Northern Runway into routine use.
“Central to this is our commitment for our business to be net zero for scope 1 and 2 by 2030. The aviation industry is addressing the challenges, and we are working closely with our stakeholders to ensure we create a sustainable airport for the future.”
This commitment is aligned with both VINCI Airports’ environmental action plan, which aims for all its EU airports to be net zero by 2030, and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)’s commitment to decarbonization action.
"This will be achieved by investing over £250 million (US$306 million) to reduce carbon emissions, such as moving to an electric vehicle fleet and replacing gas boilers and refrigerants with low carbon alternatives," notes the press release. "The airport will also continue to reduce overall energy use, invest in on-site renewable energy, including solar power, and source renewable electricity through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), to further continue London Gatwick’s role in helping the UK to decarbonize."
