British Airways details Gatwick short-haul plan

It will operate as an independent subsidiary offering the full BA-style service using a fleet of up to 17 Airbus A320s, depending on demand.

BA hopes the unnamed new venture, which will fly in BA colours, will return its Gatwick short-haul operation to profit by cutting costs, allowing it to compete with easyJet and Wizz Air at the airport.

BA said: “The continuing travel restrictions mean that British Airways is not currently flying any short-haul flights from Gatwick and looking beyond this, we know the competitive environment will be even tougher than it was pre-pandemic.

“While we want to restart flying short-haul from Gatwick, we will only do this if we have a competitive and sustainable operating cost base.”