London Gatwick celebrates arrival of Jet2, becoming airline’s newest airport base
- The UK’s third-largest airline will fly to 29 sunshine destinations from London Gatwick, taking off in March 2026
- Jet2 will have six aircraft operating to and from London Gatwick, with five permanently based at the airport
- The launch will create more than 300 local jobs including pilots, engineers and cabin crew
London Gatwick is set to welcome Jet2 in March 2026, marking a major milestone for the airport as it becomes the newest base for one of the UK’s largest airlines. Jet2 will launch operations with six aircraft and an exciting network of 29 routes, offering passengers even more choice for award-winning flights and holidays.
This marks the largest new based airline at London Gatwick this century, as the UK’s leading tour operator expands to meet soaring demand from passengers and independent travel agents.
Jet2’s arrival brings a major boost to the region, creating more than 300 direct jobs across flight deck, cabin crew, engineering and ground operations, plus hundreds more through the wider supply chain.
Today’s announcement expands Jet2’s footprint to 14 UK airport bases and means more holidaymakers across London the South East can enjoy award-winning Jet2.com flights and ATOL protected package Jet2holidays.
In a demonstration of its commitment to London Gatwick, Jet2 has put a significant programme on sale for its first summer of operations, with 29 sunshine destinations available. The first flight from London Gatwick will take off for Tenerife on 26 March 2026, perfectly timed for the Easter holidays.
A fleet of six aircraft will fly passengers to a wide choice of destinations across mainland Spain, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Malta, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria and Cyprus. This includes five based brand-new Airbus A321neo aircraft, recognised as the most fuel-efficient and sustainable aircraft in its class today, reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per seat by more than 20% and providing a 50% lower noise footprint when compared to other aircraft.
Pierre-Hugues Schmit, Chief Executive, London Gatwick said: “We are thrilled to welcome Jet2 to London Gatwick, marking an exciting new chapter for the airport and our passengers. Jet2’s arrival brings even more choice and flexibility to passengers across the South East and beyond, strengthening London Gatwick’s vision to be the airport for everyone, whatever your journey.
“It is an exciting time for Jet2 to join London Gatwick following the recent government approval for routine use of our Northern Runway, which will further expand connectivity and economic growth. We are committed to delivering exceptional service and we look forward to supporting Jet2’s growth and success here at London Gatwick.”
Steve Heapy, Chief Executive, Jet2 said: “We are incredibly excited to be announcing our arrival at London Gatwick, which is a major milestone in our continued success story. We know all too well how much demand there is amongst customers and independent travel agents for us to operate our award-winning flights and holidays from the UK’s second largest airport, so it is fantastic to be able to tell them that we are here and ready to meet that demand.
"Time and time again, we have proven that when we bring the Jet2 product to new customers, we delight them and we subsequently expand our operations on the back of that popularity. We know that bringing the Jet2 formula to London Gatwick will be a game-changer for customers and we are looking forward to a hugely successful future from our newest UK airport base.”
Jet2’s summer 26 programme from London Gatwick:
Fuerteventura – two weekly services (Wednesday and Sunday)
Gran Canaria – two weekly services (Wednesday and Sunday)
Lanzarote – two weekly services (Tuesday and Saturday)
Tenerife – three weekly services (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday)
Ibiza – two weekly services (Monday and Friday)
Majorca – 10 weekly services (Monday, 2 x Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 2 x Saturday and 2 x Sunday)
Menorca – three weekly services (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday)
Alicante – five weekly services (Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
Girona – two weekly services (Thursday and Sunday)
Malaga – four weekly services (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday)
Reus – three weekly services (Monday, Wednesday and Friday)
Faro – 10 weekly services (Monday, 2 x Tuesday, Wednesday, 2x Thursday, Friday, 2 x Saturday and Sunday)
Antalya – three weekly services (Monday, Friday and Saturday)
Corfu – two weekly services (Monday and Friday)
Crete (Heraklion) – two weekly services (Tuesday and Friday)
Kalamata – one weekly service (Wednesday)
Kefalonia – two weekly services (Monday and Friday)
Kos – two weekly services (Monday and Thursday)
Halkidiki – two weekly services (Thursday and Sunday)
Preveza – two weekly services (Wednesday and Saturday)
Rhodes - two weekly services (Tuesday and Friday)
Skiathos – one weekly service (Tuesday)
Zante - one weekly service (Wednesday)
Malta - two weekly services (Thursday and Sunday)
Naples – two weekly services (Monday and Friday)
Verona – one weekly service (Wednesday)
Paphos (Cyprus) – two weekly services (Monday and Thursday)
Pula – two weekly services (Tuesday and Friday)
Bourgas (Bulgaria) - two weekly services (Wednesday and Saturday)
Jet2 is the UK’s third largest airline, measured by passenger numbers (CAA) and fleet size (airfleets.net)
Jet2holidays is the UK’s largest tour operator, measured by ATOL licence
With 43m annual passengers, London Gatwick is the UK’s second largest and one of Europe’s top ten airports. It is a vital piece of national infrastructure that drives both the national and regional economies by generating £5.5bn GVA and supporting over 76,000 jobs (2023). Almost 60 airlines fly from the airport to over 150 short-haul and more than 50 long-haul destinations. With a declared capacity of 55 movements an hour, London Gatwick is the most efficient single runway airport in the world.
The airport is located 28 miles south of the UK capital and is extremely well-connected, with more than a quarter of England’s population (15m people) – including all of London – less than one hour away by road or rail. A six-year, £2bn sustainable growth programme includes an ambitious plan to be a net zero airport by 2030 and to increase capacity by bringing the airport’s existing Northern Runway into routine use, alongside its Main Runway. VINCI Airports owns a 50.01% stake in the airport, with Global Infrastructure Partners managing the remaining 49.99%.
VINCI Airports, as the leading private airport operator in the world, manages the development and operation of more than 70 airports located in 14 countries. VINCI Airports draws on its expertise as a comprehensive integrator to develop, finance, build and operate airports, leveraging its investment capability and know-how to optimise operational performance and modernise infrastructure while bringing about their environmental transition. In 2016, VINCI Airports became the first airport operator to commit to an international environmental strategy, setting itself the aim of reaching zero net emissions (scope 1 and 2) across the network by 2050 while supporting the territories’ local climate transition.
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GIP’s scaled platform has over $170bn in assets under management. We believe that our focus on real infrastructure assets, combined with our deep proprietary origination network and comprehensive operational expertise, enables us to be responsible stewards of our clients’ capital and to create positive economic impact for communities. For more information, visit www.global-infra.com.
