Affordable airline Jet2 is launching flights from one of London’s busiest airports for the first time

It’s been a good year for Jet2. This summer that advert enjoyed the sort of online virality that marketing teams pray for, and the other week the carrier was named the most reliable provider in the UK. That streak of great news isn’t over – Jet2 has just announced that it will soon start flying from London Gatwick Airport, in what bosses say is a ‘game-changer’ for customers.

According to Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy, it’s been a long-held ambition for the airline to join its competitors in the Sussex hub. Gatwick is the UK’s (and London’s) second largest airport, and already home to several low-cost operators like Wizz Air, Ryanair, and easyJet.

Heapy described the move as a ‘once in a generation opportunity to accelerate our growth’, adding that it will give consumers more choice about where they go and when, particularly in the summer months. An aviation expert told the Independent that extra competition at Gatwick will ‘benefit the consumer with lower prices and better flight times’.

The airline also says that adding Gatwick to its roster will create nearly 300 jobs, ranging from cabin crew and pilots to engineers and ground staff.

Several London airports are about to receive billion-pound upgrades

Six Jet2 planes will be based at Gatwick, made possible by the ‘release of additional capacity by the airport’. This is only part of broader expansion plans, which include the controversial decision to add an extra runway before 2030.

And it’s not alone – all of the capital’s largest airports are in the midst of levelling up. Heathrow is set to receive an ambitious extension, which has a projected cost of an eye watering £49 billion. Meanwhile, Stansted has been working on upping visitor numbers with a £1 billion makeover since 2023.

Plus Luton, another major budget hub, is about to get a brand new terminal. Once all is said and done, London’s airports will be pretty different – and a lot bigger – within a couple of years.

Jet2 destinations from London Gatwick and launch dates

For now though, Jet2 will launch its first flights from Gatwick next March, just in time for the Easter holidays. Twenty nine ‘sunshine destinations’ will be on offer, with most routes taking off once or twice a week,. Mallorca and Faro, however, will be best served, with 10 flights per week. You can book your tickets here, with some routes starting as low as £26 one way.

Here’s all the destinations Jet2 will offer once it starts flying from Gatwick.

• Fuerteventura
• Gran Canaria
• Lanzarote
• Tenerife
• Ibiza
• Majorca
• Menorca
• Alicante
• Girona
• Malaga
• Reus
• Faro
• Antalya
• Corfu
• Crete (Heraklion)
• Kalamata
• Kefalonia
• Kos
• Halkidiki
• Preveza
• Rhodes
• Skiathos
• Zante
• Malta
• Naples
• Verona
• Paphos
• Pula
• Bourgas

Why is there a campaign to shut down the Gatwick Express? Find out here.

Plus: 5 new Superloop bus routes could transform travel in outer London