Johan Lundgren, easyJet’s chief executive, urged the airport to prioritise getting back to normal instead of planning to bring a standby runway into use.

Lundgren said Gatwick’s current single runway meant it often operated at capacity in peak times and that this needed to be taken into account as passenger numbers returned.

“I would prioritise that resilience rather than expansion plans,” he said during a media call.

“We think they should focus on resilience and make sure the airport can run as smoothly as it possibly can.”

EasyJet holds around 44% of Gatwick’s slots, but like other airlines, it fears the cost of widening the standby runway and building related infrastructure – which has not been detailed – will be passed onto it. 

Gatwick plans to bring its second runway into routine use for departing aircraft, a project that would allow the airport to handle up to 75 million passengers per year by 2038.

Gatwick catered for 46.6 million passengers in 2019 before the pandemic saw traffic slump to just 10.2 million in 2020.