UK flag carrier may be planning to drop its operations out of Gatwick. As reported in the Telegraph, “Given Heathrow’s popularity, take-off and landing slots are highly sought after and can be traded by airlines for tens of millions of pounds.”
Therefore, the airline aims to consolidate operations from its Heathrow hub, making sure it can fill all of its slots if the present corona-induced waiver on slot usage comes to an end. The airline has already suspended its flights from London Gatwick numerous times since the pandemic began.
The plummeting demand for international travel heavily hit British Airways. Moreover, the carrier’s hub is one of the most congested airports globally, Heathrow, and the need to drastically reduce its operations during the pandemic has left it potentially exposed to losing its rights to a large number of slots at the airport.
Just last month, Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, BA parent company, told analysts: “Gatwick is an important decision that we need to take as a group. We indeed have an issue with the slots. Gatwick has some strategic value, but we need to be competitive there. This crisis is going to change the profile of the demand. So, we are analyzing the different options.”
