Jet2 launches new base at Gatwick in 'transformational' move

(Sharecast News) - Jet2 is to start flying out of London's Gatwick Airport for the first time, which the airline says will open it up to a further 15m potential customers. The budget airline announced on Wednesday that it will start scheduled flying from Gatwick from late-March 2026, having secured slots for six aircraft following the release of additional capacity by the airport.

Jet2 hailed the move as a "transformational next step" for the business, expanding its presence in the South of England while taking the total number of its UK bases to 14.

Gatwick also has a catchment area - defined as people who can access the airport by road or rail within 60 minutes - of nearly 15m, 7m of which live within 30 miles.

"London Gatwick represents a key component of Jet2's longer term growth and value creation plan and we are pleased that this valuable opportunity has arisen earlier than management's original expectations," Jet2 said in a statement.

The airline said it would take a "meaningful step-up in short-term investment" to establish its operations and customer service at the airport. As a result, financial results for the year ending 31 March 2026 will include promotional and resourcing startup costs ahead of operational launch, while changes in fleet mix to account for new aircraft being based in Gatwick will also increase costs over the coming years.

Jet2 expects the Gatwick operation to move into profitability by the fiscal year ending March 2029.

"For many years, our ambition has been to provide our differentiated, service led, end-to-end product offering from London Gatwick, and we see this as a once in a generation opportunity to accelerate our growth from the UK's largest beach and city leisure destination airport," said chief executive Steve Heapy.

Jet2 shares were down 0.7% at 1,307.05p by 1001 GMT, while competitor easyJet - which has its primary operating base at Gatwick - was down 2.7% at 465.7p.