Gatwick made £321m loss in first six months of this year due to coronavirus

The airport said there was a 'collapse' in passenger demand

Gatwick posted a £321m loss in the first six months of this year (Getty)

Gatwick Airport made a £321m loss in the first six months of this year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

In its half year results, the airport said that ”despite an encouraging start to the year passenger numbers at Gatwick fell by 66 per cent in the first six months ending 30 June 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19”.

The airport remained open throughout the pandemic but all of its revenue streams were impacted by the “collapse in passenger demand”, the statement said.

Recovery to pre-Covid levels could take “four or five years” based on current trends.

In response to the ongoing crisis, the airport will reduce planned capital expenditure by £157m this year, and by £196m in 2021.

It’s also hoping to cut operational costs by over £100m through multiple initiatives, including consolidating air traffic to one terminal as well as cutting jobs and fixed-term contracts.

Gatwick announced that it would axe 600 jobs as part of its restructuring earlier this week.

In its latest statement, it revealed that over 70 per cent of its staff remain on furlough. It was also forced to take out a £300m loan to improve its liquidity.

Gatwick Airport’s CEO Stewart Wingate said: “Like any other international airport, 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. However, we are focussed on ensuring the business remains robust and is best placed to take advantage of future growth.

“As with any responsible company we have protected our financial resilience by significantly reducing our operational costs and capital expenditure. We are going through a proposed company-wide restructuring programme and I want to thank all my staff for their hard work to date whilst we go through this difficult time. We will emerge a fitter and stronger organisation, best placed to remain flexible and agile in responding to growth opportunities. This includes continuing to do all we can to protect the safety and wellbeing of our staff and passengers.”

He added: “In this post Covid-19 travelling world, we are working hard with our airlines to ensure we continue to offer our customers a wide choice of destinations and carriers. We also expect, next year, to progress our plans to bring the existing Northern (stand-by) Runway into routine use which, as we rebuild our passenger numbers over the next four to five years, will enable us to offer even more travel choice. We will ensure we continue to deliver our operation mindful of our environmental, social and governance responsibilities. We want to rebuild better.

“Despite the immediate challenges, I remain resolutely optimistic that Gatwick will recover and retain its position as one of the UK’s leading travel hubs and economic driver for the region.”

Gatwick will have been affected by Virgin’s decision to stop flying from the hub as part of its cost-cutting measures.

But with Wizz Air joining the roster of airlines using the Crawley airport, there are signs of recovery.