Gatwick boss: simplify Covid travel tests or UK will lag behind rest of Europe

Airport hit by 245m loss as passenger numbers fall to 569,000 in first six months of 2021

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The chief executive of Gatwick airport has urged the government to simplify Covid testing requirements for travellers or continue to see the UK lag behind the recovery in the rest of Europe and the US, as Britain's second busiest air hub reported a 245m loss in the first half.

Stewart Wingate blamed a collapse in passenger demand and government restrictions. In the first six months of the year, passenger numbers at Gatwick plunged to 569,000, from 7.5 million in the first half of last year, and 22 million in the first six months of 2019, before the pandemic.