Leeds-headquartered Jet2 will begin operating flights and holidays from London Gatwick in March 2026, marking its first presence at the airport and extending its network to 14 UK bases.
The move establishes Jet2 as the largest new airline to base operations at Gatwick in over two decades. It strengthens its position as the UK’s largest tour operator and third largest airline.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2, said: “Today’s announcement represents an incredibly exciting moment for Jet2. For many years, our ambition has been to provide our differentiated, service led, end-to-end product offering from London Gatwick, and we see this as a once in a generation opportunity to accelerate our growth from the UK’s largest beach and city leisure destination airport.
“We know all too well how much demand there is amongst customers and independent travel agents for us to operate our award-winning flights and holidays from London Gatwick, so it is fantastic to be able to share that we are here and ready to meet their travelling needs.
“Time and time again, we have proven that when we bring the Jet2 product to new customers, we delight them, and we subsequently expand our operations on the back of that popularity. We know that bringing the Jet2 formula to London Gatwick will be a game-changer for customers and we are looking forward to a hugely successful future from our newest UK airport base.”
The company plans to launch services to 29 destinations across Europe, including Spain, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, and Cyprus. A fleet of six aircraft will serve the new routes, five of which will be brand-new Airbus A321neo models designed to cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by more than 20% per seat and halve noise output compared to older aircraft.
The expansion will create more than 300 direct jobs at Gatwick, covering cabin crew, pilots, engineers, and ground operations, with additional indirect employment expected across the region.
Jet2’s Gatwick launch follows more than two decades of growth since its first flights in 2003. The company now operates flights to over 75 leisure destinations and offers ATOL-protected package holidays through Jet2holidays, which serves over seven million customers annually.
