UK airports to hit post-Covid peak aiming to fly 150 million more passengers

Passenger volumes in peak summer school holiday period to reach 94 per cent of 2019 levels

Gatwick Airport expects easyJet to have 80 planes based at the airport for the peak summer rush. PA

Airports in the UK are looking forward to busiest time since the start of the pandemic as the peak summer holiday season approaches.

As airports look to keep delays and cancellations down this year, they are also looking at longer-term expansion plans that could mean 150 million more passengers a year.

Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick Airport, said he expected passenger volumes in the peak summer school holiday period to be at 94 per cent of 2019 levels.

“We expect in 2023 Gatwick will certainly be busier over the summer period and perhaps a bit more peaky than it was before the pandemic,” Mr Wingate said.

“We are going to be busier. We are working really hard to make sure that the airport is ready and that the airlines and their ground handlers are ready.

“We don’t anticipate any issues over the coming Easter weekend or for the peak summer seasons. We don’t anticipate limiting any growth in July or August time."

Last summer, Gatwick, had to restrict its maximum number of daily flights and cancel flights because of airline and airport staff shortages.

A revival of demand for short-haul travel has helped Gatwick, the country’s second busiest airport after Heathrow.

Mr Wingate said he expects easyJet to have 80 planes based at the airport, south of London, for the summer.

In the expansion plans being worked on by eight of the UK’s biggest airports, Gatwick is looking to see 30 million more passengers a year by bringing its emergency runway into regular use.

Heathrow, the biggest and busiest UK airport, also accounts for more than one-third of the planned growth in passenger numbers.

The plan to build a third runway is returning, Heathrow announced in February, after a pandemic-enforced pause. On its own, it would increase Heathrow passenger capacity to 142 million a year.

At Stansted, north-east of the capital, upgrades have been approved to take the capacity to 43 million a year. Luton, also north of London, has plans to double capacity to 32 million.

Manchester airport plans to see an extra 15 million passengers by 2025 with the expansion of its terminal.

Bristol has won planning permission to lift its 12 million cap on passengers and Birmingham wants to reach 18 million.

Edinburgh has finished the work to raise its capacity to 20 million passengers.