British Airways actually wanted to outsource the short and medium-haul service in London-Gatwick to a new subsidiary. Nothing will come of that, because the carrier will withdraw from this segment, apart from a few domestic flights.

Specifically, this means that British Airways will no longer offer international short- and medium-haul flights from Gatwick Airport. The company justified the step with the tough competition and the resistance of the trade unions regarding the spin-off into a new low-cost subsidiary. This pulls the plug out of the medium-haul base Gatwick.

The long haul is not affected by this measure. In order to have at least a few feeder flights, selected domestic flights to / from Gatwick are retained. The Balpa union stated in a statement, among other things, that the conditions set by British Airways could not be accepted. When asked, a BA spokeswoman said: “After many years of losing money on European flights from the airport, we realized that we needed a plan after the pandemic to make Gatwick profitable and competitive. It is with regret that we will now discontinue our short-haul operations in Gatwick ”.

It should be exciting what the International Airlines Group will do with the many slots that are held in Gatwick, but will no longer be used by British Airways in the future. It is extremely unlikely that these will be returned to the regulator. Possible scenarios are that group member Vueling will take up some routes. It is open whether this brand or level is used. Alternatively, the youngest subsidiary, Aer Lingus UK, could also be used. The latter is setting up a base in Manchester and is particularly cheap in direct comparison with British Airways. In contrast to Vueling, you already have a UK AOC.