Virgin Atlantic pulling out of Gatwick to have 'detrimental impact' on local economy

The leader of Crawley Borough Council Peter Lamb has said the news of Virgin Atlantic pulling out of Gatwick Airport will have a detrimental effect, not just on the airport, but on the local economy too.

This afternoon,Virgin Atlantic announced it will cut more than 3,000 jobs and end its operation at Gatwick.

  • The leader of Crawley Borough Council says the knock-on impact of the airline moving away from Gatwick will be felt in the town.

It is believed many of the job losses will come due to the airline pulling out of Gatwick.

Virgin Atlantic said uncertainty over when flying will resume as well as “unprecedented market conditions” as a result of the coronavirus pandemic had “severely reduced revenues”.

Gatwick has been the headquarters for Virgin Atlantic for 35 years, but now flights will be moved to Heathrow Airport.

The news is the latest in a series of negative developments for the airline industry since the Covid-19 outbreak began.

Last week it was announced there would soon be make up to 12,000 redundancies at British Airways.

BA has also said grounded flights not resume from Gatwick when borders reopen and restrictions are lifted.

Flights from Gatwick closed due to the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic will not restart. Some routes will be switched to Heathrow.

The airline said talks with the Government about additional funding during the lockdown "are ongoing".

Founder Sir Richard Branson recently warned the carrier will collapse unless it receives Government support.

Shai Weiss, CEO, Virgin Atlantic commented: “We have weathered many storms since our first flight 36 years ago, but none has been as devastating as Covid-19 and the associated loss of life and livelihood for so many.