BA suspended its European operations at Gatwick during the pandemic and moved a number of flights to Heathrow. Its 6.25am Larnaca service on Tuesday (29 March) marked the resumption from Gatwick, with other flights scheduled to depart for Amsterdam, Paphos and Tenerife.
In total, BA will offer 35 destinations from Gatwick, with more due to be added later this year, it said on Tuesday.
Services will initially operate under BA’s air operations certificate before operations are transferred to a new BA branded subsidiary, BA Euroflyer, later in the year.
BA confirmed BA Euroflyer "will operate in a similar manner to the company’s existing subsidiary, BA Cityflyer, flying under the British Airways brand and delivering a premium British Airways product".
It came to an agreement with unions last November for the new operation, which is designed with a lower-cost structure. BA’s pilots have also backed the operation.
Gatwick reopened its South Terminal at the weekend, with the airport now overseeing nearly 600 departures a day, up from 300.
Tom Stoddart, acting chief executive of BA Euroflyer, said the resumption of flights from Gatwick – BA’s first for two years – was a "significant milestone".
"I am looking forward to see our newest subsidiary grow, adding new routes and providing customers with more options to get away on holiday with a premium British Airways service," he said.
Passengers will benefit from a "generous baggage allowance", said BA. This, BA later confirmed to TTG, would mirror BA mainline baggage allowances. Other features include free water and snacks, free seat selection up to 24 hours prior to flying and frequent flyer benefits, such as lounge access.
All BA Euroflyer flights will have a Club Europe – business class – cabin, with passengers gaining access to premium check-in, exclusive lounges and a complimentary meal and bar service onboard.
Euro Traveller (economy) passengers will be able to pre-order food, including options from Tom Kerridge and BA’s Speedbird Cafe menu, and other items from their phone in-flight.
After relaunching its routes to Larnaca, Amsterdam, Paphos and Tenerife on Tuesday, BA will return to Faro and Arrecife (Lanzarote) on Wednesday (30 March) and Sicily (Catania), Marrakech and Nice on Thursday (31 March).
April resumptions include Alicante, Antalya, Bari, Crete (Heraklion), Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Kos, Gran Canaria (Las Palmas), Malaga, Malta, Majorca (Palma), Rhodes, Santorini, Seville, Thessaloniki, Turin, Venice and Verona.
Then in May, BA will restart flights to Athens, Berlin, Bordeaux, Sardinia (Cagliari), Ibiza, Madrid, Menorca (Mahon) and Milan (Malpensa).
