Handling close to 40 million passengers annually, Gatwick is one of the UK’s busiest aviation hubs and is expected to see further growth as the new airlines commence services from next spring.

Among the most notable additions is Jet2, which will establish a base at Gatwick from 26 March 2026. The airline plans to station six aircraft at the airport and operate 29 routes to destinations across Europe. These will include services to mainland Spain, the Canary and Balearic Islands, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Malta, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria and Cyprus.

Jet2’s arrival is forecast to create around 300 direct jobs locally, spanning flight operations, cabin crew, engineering and ground services.

Additional employment is also expected through indirect roles within the airport’s supply chain.

Air France will also join Gatwick’s roster of airlines, launching a new twice-daily service between London and Paris Charles de Gaulle from 29 March 2026, further enhancing links between the UK and France.

Germany will be represented by two carriers. Eurowings is scheduled to begin operations on 29 March, offering 13 weekly flights to Cologne, followed by six weekly services to Stuttgart from 13 April. Condor will also introduce a new route from Gatwick to Frankfurt, starting in April.

Long-haul connectivity will be bolstered by Beijing Capital Airlines, which is reported to be planning a new service between Gatwick and Qingdao, in China’s Shandong province.

Meanwhile, Air Arabia will launch twice-daily flights to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates from 29 March. The route will be the only direct air link between Sharjah and the UK.

Romanian carrier AminaWings is set to begin services between Bucharest and Gatwick from 22 March, operating six days a week.

The expansion follows a busy year for the airport in 2025, during which Gatwick welcomed several new airlines, including Kenya Airways, Uganda Airlines, Air Peace, Qanot Sharq and Skybus.

The growth in airline operations comes as Gatwick moves ahead with plans to bring a second runway into use. In September, the airport received government approval for the £2.2 billion privately funded project, signed off by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.

The development will involve repositioning the existing emergency runway slightly northwards, allowing it to be used for departures by narrow-body aircraft such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s. Airport officials say the project could open the door to a wider range of destinations and increased capacity in the coming years.