London Gatwick Airport has announced an end to capacity restrictions that have limited the number of flights during the summer.

Announcing its half-year financial results, the airport said it had hired more than 400 new security staff to reduce delays.

Meanwhile, nearby London Heathrow Airport has extended its capacity cap until 29 October, prompting airlines including British Airways to cancel hundreds more flights.

Gatwick said it now has additional resources in place to cope with higher demand, so ‘no further moderation of flying programmes is necessary’.

“Gatwick has provided staff to support other airport operators – including airline baggage handlers – as part of a continuous effort to improve their performance, reduce delays and return to high standard service levels,” it added in an online statement.

CEO Stewart Wingate added: “We still have some way to go, but strong demand has fast-tracked Gatwick’s recovery from the pandemic, particularly in the last quarter since all UK travel restrictions were removed. Air traffic volumes have reflected this strong passenger demand and have bounced back to around 75% of pre-COVID levels.  

“The unprecedented growth in traffic led to short term operational issues in June, however our decisive early action to limit the airport’s capacity in the crucial school holiday period of July and August has ensured passengers have experienced reliable flight timetables over the summer months. We are now very much operating business as usual and do not see any reason to extend the capacity declaration.”

“Despite some broad economic uncertainty, we are also looking forward to a successful second half to the year, with new, exciting airlines and routes coming online and continuous improvement in the high service standards Gatwick is known for.”