LONDON- London's Gatwick Airport will reopen its south terminal next month, counting on the easing of coronavirus curbs to boost demand this summer as travellers venture out after the Omicron variant of the virus dampened new year celebrations for most.

A number of airlines will return to the south terminal from March 27, said the UK's second-largest airport, which has kept the terminal shut for nearly two years as passenger numbers plummeted during the health crisis.

Carriers including British Airways, Dublin-based Aer Lingus, Oslo-listed Norwegian Air and low-cost carriers Vueling, Wizz Air and Ryanair will operate from the terminal, while easyJet will operate across south and north terminals.

"We are going to see significant growth at the very beginning of the summer season here at Gatwick, and then progressively we will build to operate at about 90% of the 2019 levels," Gatwick Chief Executive Stewart Wingate told Sky News.

The pandemic was especially hard on the travel sector as the emergence of a number of new variants has led to recurring curbs, wiping out company earnings and making it difficult for businesses to plan.

A warning from Britain's biggest airport, Heathrow, of a slow start to 2022 due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant underscored some of those lingering jitters. 

 

'RAY OF HOPE' BEFORE SUMMER

Airlines are still hopeful that passenger numbers, particularly in international travel, will pick up as virus-related restrictions have either been completely lifted or are being gradually eased in major economies.

In Britain, demand for flights has been edging back towards pre-COVID levels for the crucial summer holiday season, according to market data that also showed bookings for the period only 16% behind comparable levels in January 2019. 

Fully vaccinated people will no longer need to take a COVID-19 test when they land in the UK starting from Friday, making trips cheaper and relatively hassle-free.

Heathrow's boss John Holland-Kaye called scrapping of the rule "a ray of hope," but stood by an earlier forecast that passenger numbers would be just over half of pre-pandemic levels this year.

Ryanair last week laid out expectations that pent-up demand could lead to record summer passenger numbers. 

The possibility of new variants and rising living costs that could force people to reassess their budgets still pose a threat to a sustained rebound. Wingate cautioned on Friday that it may take time for consumer confidence to fully recover.

(Reporting by Muvija M in London; editing by William James and Catherine Evans) ((muvija.m@tr.com; within the UK: +44 7776813338, outside the UK: +91 80 61822698; Twitter: https://twitter.com/muvija_m;))