Summary
Gatwick Airport focuses on US leisure travel: routes to New York, Florida, Las Vegas, and more.
British Airways dominates US flights from Gatwick, emphasizing leisure destinations.
Delta Air Lines and JetBlue also operate seasonal US flights from Gatwick, catering to leisure travelers.
London’s Gatwick Airport may be a poor second to the 1,762,564 roundtrip US passengers who flew out of London Heathrow in June 2024, but it still has significant connections with the US (especially with NYC and Florida). According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, these are the five airlines operating flights from the US to London Gatwick for the month of September 2024. The data below is for inbound and outbound flights.
Gatwick’s emphasis on New York & US leisure destinations
Gatwick to US flights heavily emphasize New York JFK and Florida. Four airlines operate flights to JFK, while three offer flights to Florida’s sun-soaked beaches and theme parks. Two airlines offer flights to Las Vegas. In all, there are seasonal flights from Gatwick to seven US destinations: New York JFK, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Tampa, and Boston. With three destinations (Orlando, Miami, and Tampa), Florida has almost half of the routes.
Photo:Â Anand Balaji | Shutterstock
Gatwick is London’s secondary international airport, located around 30 miles from Central London. It is the second-busiest airport in the UK by total passenger traffic and the eighth busiest in Europe by the same measure. It has two terminals (the North Terminal and the South Terminal) and a single runway. It is also a secondary hub for British Airways and the largest operating base for the low-cost British carrier, easyJet.
British Airways – the most flights
British Airways offers the most seats across the pond from Gatwick Airport. The flag carrier operates 282 flights carrying 94,208 seats. British Airways’ North American operations seem to be focused on leisure travel to tourist destinations (like Disneyland of Orlando and the sun-soaked beaches of the Caribbean). British Airways offers year-round flights from Gatwick to Tampa (Florida), Orlando (Florida), and New York JFK. Additionally, it operates seasonal flights to the popular gambling destination, Las Vegas.
Photo:Â Darren Baker | Shutterstock
Besides the United States, British Airways operates numerous flights to the United States near abroad, including Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Some near-abroad destinations from Gatwick include Antigua, Aruba, Cancun, Port of Spain, Punta Cana, St. Kitts, St. Lucia-Hewanorra, Tobago, and Vancouver (seasonal).
Airline: Flights for September: Seats for September: British Airways: 282 94,208 Norse Atlantic UK: 233 78,754 JetBlue: 120 17,880 Delta Air Lines: 60 12,960 Tui Airways: 18 5,850 Total: 713 209,652
US-based airlines at Gatwick
Two US-based airlines operate out of Gatwick: Delta Air Lines and JetBlue. Delta has only a modest 60 operations scheduled for September and 12,960 seats. These are seasonal flights from New York JFK Airport.
Photo:Â Lukas Wunderlich | Shutterstock
JetBlue has double the number of operations scheduled (120) but only somewhat more seat capacity (17,880) for September. JetBlue operates only two seasonal routes from London Gatwick to New York JFK Airport and Boston.
Other airlines at Gatwick
The other airlines operating transatlantic flights from Gatwick to the US are North Atlantic UK and Tui Airways. With only 18 flights for September and 5,850 seats, Tui Airways has the fewest operations in the US. These flights are to Florida’s Orlando (Disneyland is a popular getaway location for British holidaymakers).
Photo: Dillon Shah | Simple Flying
Tui Airways’ “About United States of America” webpage begins by saying, “Across the pond. The family-focused thrills of Florida are known across the globe, and flights to Orlando put the A-list attractions right at your fingertips. Walt Disney World Resort’s theme and water Parks need little introduction, and Universal Orlando Resort and International Drive top up the to-do list with movie-based rides and an A to Z of eating out venues.”
Airlines: US Destinations: British Airways: New York JFK, Tampa, Orlando, Las Vegas (seasonal) Delta Air Lines: New York JFK (seasonal) JetBlue: New York JFK, Boston (both seasonal) Tui Airways: Orlando Norse Atlantic: New York JFK, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando
Tui Airways is the only one of the five airlines currently offering flights from Gatwick to the US that does not fly into New York JFK.
Norse Atlantic has the second-most connections with the US. In September, it is scheduled to have 233 operations carrying 78,754 seats. Norse Atlantic is a Norwegian low-cost, long-haul airline headquartered in Arendal, Norway. It is one of the world’s younger airlines, having only been founded in February 2021 (its first flight was in June 2022). It operates a fleet of Boeing 787s.
Norse Atlantic offers the most US connections from Gatwick, which comprises Las Vegas (beginning September 2024), Los Angeles, Miami, New York-JFK, and Orlando.