London Gatwick Airport will ¡°accelerate¡± its plans to reduce carbon emissions from the UK hub and achieve net zero by 2030, 10 years ahead of its previous commitment.

In its 2022 annual report, the airport ¡°recognised the urgent need to make net zero a reality¡± with plans to invest more than ?250 million to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions.

This investment will include building an electric vehicle fleet and charging stations to ¡°phase out¡± petrol and diesel, replacing gas boilers and refrigerants with low carbon alternatives, and continued investment in on-site renewable energy, including solar power.?

Further details on how the airport plans to achieve its climate goals will be shared ¡°in the coming months¡±.

Managed by global operator Vinci Airports ¨C which also runs Lisbon and Belfast International Airport ¨C Gatwick¡¯s new carbon reduction commitments are aligned to the operator¡¯s environmental action plan, which aims for all 24 of its EU airports to be net zero by 2030.?

The airport reported a return to profitability in 2022, with ?776.6 million in revenue (and a profit of ?196.5 million) driven by a ¡°strong and steady¡± recovery in passenger numbers throughout the year.?

London Gatwick¡¯s short-haul network was the first to show strong recovery in 2022 and now serves 156 destinations, with easyJet flying 72 per cent of these routes. Short-haul travel volumes are currently at 92 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, while long-haul connectivity is ¡°taking longer to recover but has bounced back robustly in recent months¡± and now stands at 76 per cent of 2019 levels.

Nevertheless, the airport remains ¡°cautiously optimistic¡± about a full recovery.

London Gatwick Airport CEO Stewart Wingate said:?¡°While we still have some way to go to reach a full recovery, we know long-term sustainable investment is critical to the future of our airport and provides a significant boost to the regional and national economy.?

¡°This year we are pushing forward with a number of projects to improve resilience and the overall passenger experience, including preparing our planning application to bring the existing Northern Runway into routine use.¡±

Wingate continued: ¡°Central to this is our commitment for our business to be net zero for Scope 1 and 2 by 2030. The aviation industry is addressing the challenges, and we are working closely with our stakeholders to ensure we create a sustainable airport for the future.¡±