Gatwick Airport posts £343m interim loss as passenger numbers tumble

Gatwick Airport posted a £343.0m interim loss on Friday as passenger numbers tumbled two-thirds in the six months ended 30 June in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The second-busiest airport in the UK saw revenues slump 61% to £144.0m as a strong start to the year was more than undone by the negative impact of the pandemic on passenger numbers and air traffic.

Gatwick, which has reduced operating flights to just one of its two terminals, stated passenger numbers had slid from 22.0m to only 7.5m and anticipates it taking four to five years for air traffic levels to return to pre-coronavirus levels.

Average load factor dropped to 76.6% from 84.8%.

Chief executive Stewart Wingate said: "The negative impact of Covid-19 on our passenger numbers and air traffic at the start of the year was dramatic and, although there are small signs of recovery, it is a trend we expect to continue to see.

"As with any responsible company we have protected our financial resilience by significantly reducing our operational costs and capital expenditure."

Gatwick, which laid out plans to cut around 600 jobs earlier in the week, did slash capex spending throughout the half - down from £142.1m to £66.5m.