UK. London Gatwick Airport has released full-year results which show a return to profit in 2022. The encouraging performance was driven by strong retail (£159 million), car parking (£102 million) and aeronautical (£405 million) income, with total revenues reaching £776.6 million (-9% against 2019).
Net retail income was down just -19.9% against 2019 and car parking revenues exceeded £100 million for the first time in the airport’s history.
2022 profit was £196.5 million, after a combined loss of £830 million from 2020 and 2021. EBITDA for the year stood at £446.3 million.
Gatwick served 32.8 million passengers, 70.4% of pre-pandemic levels.
Despite returning to profitability the airport said it remains cautiously optimistic about a full recovery, given the current economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures.
Retail
Net retail income reached £156.5 million, -19.9% lower than 2022 but a solid performance with passenger numbers down by -29.6%.
Encouragingly, income per passenger reached £4.77, +13.8% higher than 2019.
Gatwick said the strong retail results stemmed from the relaxation of government-imposed trading restrictions in 2021, the reopening of the South Terminal at the end of March 2022 and the general growth in passenger volumes.
The airport noted that it had worked closely with concessionaires to manage this transition smoothly and overcome operational challenges, including across the summer when many operators experienced a shortage in staff.
The outcome was strong sales per passenger across most categories, it said, and an enhanced product offering through new brands and concessionaires.
Catering and specialist shops particularly benefited, given the limited onboard catering provision on some key carriers during the summer.
Gatwick said the encouraging retail performance was driven by a combination of factors, including a different passenger mix, new commercial terms with concessionaires, and the full trading impact of the investment made in mezzanine in the broader North Terminal catering offer.
Car parking
Car parking revenue exceeded £100 million for the first time in Gatwick’s history, as noted. The 2022 result of £101.7 million was £14.5 million higher than the level achieved in 2019.
The airport said this was predominantly driven by a different mix of parking products at different times of the year; local market dynamics and operational constraints over the peak summer months leading to higher prices; the impact of forecourt charging across both terminals since March 2021; and a higher proportion of UK-originating departing passengers than in 2019.
Net car parking income per passenger for the year was £2.57, an increase of +76% compared with the same period in 2019. The airport said this reflects higher revenues but also close monitoring of sales and operating costs throughout the year.
2022 in review and plans for 2023
Looking back at 2022, the airport noted that the gradual removal of travel restrictions, and the return of discipline to UK airport slot regulations put London Gatwick in a good position.
The rapid upturn in demand during Q2 2022 drove significant operational challenges across the aviation sector. In response, London Gatwick took early and decisive action working closely with the airport’s partners, including the airlines, to ensure passenger disruption was minimised during the peak summer months.
Investment this year will see a fully redeveloped airport train station completed and work beginning to upgrade the North Terminal international departure lounge. The airport is continuing the preparation of its planning application (Development Consent Order) to bring its existing Northern Runway into routine use.
London Gatwick’s short-haul network now serves 156 destinations, with easyJet flying 72% of those routes. In terms of flight numbers, short-haul has reached 92% of the figure flown pre-pandemic.
Long-haul connectivity, meanwhile, is taking longer to recover but has bounced back robustly in recent months, and now boasts 47 long-haul routes (76% of the number flown pre-pandemic).
Air India will start flying to four new destinations later this month (26 March) and Delta Air Lines returns to London Gatwick with the airport’s fourth daily flight to New York (10 April) from this summer. Jet Blue, British Airways and Norse Atlantic Airways will also operate new long-haul routes to North America and the Caribbean.
Leader reaction
London Gatwick Airport Chief Executive Officer Stewart Wingate said: “The decisive actions we took early last year allowed us to offer good levels of service to passengers who travelled through Gatwick. Thank you to all colleagues across our airport, who supported the operation last year as travel restrictions eased and passengers started to travel. This year we will have even more choice of airlines and destinations for travellers, whether flying for business or leisure.
“While we still have some way to go to reach a full recovery, we know long-term sustainable investment is critical to the future of our airport and provides a significant boost to the regional and national economy. This year we are pushing forward with a number of projects to improve resilience and the overall passenger experience, including preparing our planning application to bring the existing Northern Runway into routine use.”
He added: “Despite some broad economic uncertainty, we are looking forward to a successful 2023, with new airlines and routes coming online, a strong ramp-up in our investment and continuous improvement in the high service standards for which Gatwick is known.” 
