Travel news - live: British Airways returns to Gatwick following South Terminal reopening
First flight in two years left South Terminal for Larnaca at 6.25 AM
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Your support makes all the difference.British Airways is making a return to Gatwick Airport today, following a nearly two year pause on flights from the East Sussex hub.
The first BA flight from the East Sussex airport departed at 6.25 AM, headed for Larnaca, Cyprus - just two days after Gatwick’s South Terminal reopened to passengers.
The terminal, which contains the airline’s First and Club lounges, reopened on Sunday after nearly two years unused.
Today’s flights are the first offerings from BA’s new Gatwick-specific, short-haul operation, which will eventually become a subsidiary of the brand, “EuroFlyer” - similar to its “CityFlyer” programme from London City Airport.
“Initially services will operate under the British Airways Air Operators Certificate (AOC), before moving operations to a new British Airways branded subsidiary, BA Euroflyer later in the year,” says a statement from the carrier.
“The new airline will operate in a similar manner to the company’s existing subsidiary BA Cityflyer, flying under the British Airways brand and delivering a premium British Airways product.”
Read on for the latest news and developments.
Gatwick’s South Terminal, two days in
Hello from Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal, where a steady but comfortable trickle of passengers is flowing through check-in and security this morning.
I’m here to get a look at British Airways’ first flights out of the airport in nearly two years, as well as experience this Sleeping Beauty for the first time since 2020.
I’ve flown out of North Terminal a handful of times since Covid shut down its sibling terminal, and it feels incredibly strange to turn left into the South Terminal entrance from the train station, rather than making the usual hard right for the shuttle to the former.
A few shops are still shuttered, but the departure hall Wetherspoons is predictably buzzing, as is the Caffe Nero just before security,
I’ll be checking out BA’s new short-haul Gatwick experience a little later, on its first flight to Tenerife, so stay tuned for a sneak preview.
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