Jet2.com and Jet2holidays named Gatwick as its 14th UK base in November – its fifth in the south of England following the launch in recent years of programmes at Stansted in 2017, Bristol in 2021, and Bournemouth and Luton last year.
The first Jet2 flight to depart Gatwick was a 9.55am service to Tenerife followed by a 10.35am service to Alicante. Jet2.com and Jet2holidays chief executive Steve Heapy joined passengers and airport delegates for the launch, as well as "voice of Jet2holidays" Zoe Lister, where there was a red carpet welcome at check-in for the airline and operator's first passengers out of Gatwick.
For Gatwick, the arrival of Jet2 is the airport's largest airline launch in a decade, which has created more than 300 jobs locally.
Jet2 will base five Airbus A321neo at Gatwick flying to mainland Spain, the Canaries, the Balearics, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Malta, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria and Cyprus. Gatwick will also be served by a sixth Jet2 aircraft based overseas.
In total, Jet2 will serve 29 beach and city break destinations in its first year at Gatwick.
Jet2 said going into Gatwick presented "a unique opportunity" to extend its footprint and attract new customers. The airline and operator claims the launch taps into a catchment of nearly 15 million people who can access the airport by road or rail within 60 minutes.
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In addition, Jet2 said going into Gatwick would give it "a strong strategic foothold to benefit from future expansion" at the airport, which is seeking to bring its standby runway into permanent use. It doesn't, however, expect its Gatwick operation to become profitable until 2029.
Speaking to TTG last November, Jet2 chief Heapy nonetheless insisted the airline and operator would be able to compete on price with other Gatwick-based airlines and operators.
He also pointed towards Jet2's track record of quickly growing its UK bases. "We’ve done that [expand] at every airport," said Heapy. "In 2017, when we launched at Stansted, we had six aircraft, that’s now 16. We now have 14 aircraft at Birmingham, we had four when we started."
Jet2 has since put its first winter programme on sale at Gatwick, which features 14 winter sun, five ski and four Christmas market destinations, and pledged to increase capacity at the airport by more than a quarter (+27%) for summer 2027, going up to 34 beach and city destinations – including the launch of an exclusive new route to Lesbos.
Gatwick chief executive Pierre-Hugues Schmit said: “The launch of 29 new routes and the creation of more than 300 jobs demonstrate the strength of demand for travel from our airport and the confidence airlines have in London Gatwick as a place to grow."
