Gambia Bird chooses Gatwick to fly new service to Banjul and Freetown

  • Gatwick welcomes the new West African airline Gambia Bird as it begins services to Banjul and Freetown
  • Gatwick continues to compete and win new airlines, creating more choice for passengers 

2012-10-25 — /travelprnews.com/ — Today, Gatwick Airport welcomes new West African airline Gambia Bird – owned by German airline group Germania – to its list of long-haul airlines choosing Gatwick, as it begins a once a week direct service to the The Gambia capital, Banjul and Freetown in Sierra Leone.

The magnificent coastline of Africa’s smallest country, with its luxurious beach resorts, bustling fishing villages and stunning nature reserves, is not only the attraction for beach-bound travellers, it also offers a real opportunity to soak up the atmosphere amongst the heaving markets and its vibrant culture.

Matt Wood, Head of Airline Relations at Gatwick Airport said: “We are delighted to welcome Gambia Bird and its passengers to the airport today, offering passengers further choice to the west coast of Africa. We continue to compete with other London airports and continue to win new airlines and new routes. By attracting Gambia Bird, we are committed to offering our passengers the best possible choice of destinations they can fly to throughout the year.”

Karsten Balke, Chief Commercial Officer at Gambia Bird stated: “Our aim is to build a reputation for quality and reliability via our scheduled and punctual services. Onward travel connections from Gatwick into Central London and beyond are excellent, so we felt this blended in perfectly with our business model. And with today’s trend for people to book their own flights, especially if they are returning to a country they love, or to see friends and family, having a scheduled airline that flies into Banjul from Gatwick makes a lot of sense.”

Over the past three years, Gatwick has been investing around £20 million every month to transform the airport to make the facilities better for passengers and attract new airlines. Recent new direct routes include Beijing, South Korea, Istanbul, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Notes to Editors

Gambia Bird operating services out of Gatwick

  • Gambia Bird will commence operations from Gatwick on 24 October 2012 from Gatwick’s South Terminal
  • It will operate a once-weekly service with the Saturday service arriving into Gatwick at 0735hrs before departing for Freetown at 1030hrs. The Wednesday service flight will arrive at Gatwick at 2055hrs before departing for Banjul at 2150hrs
  • It will operate the Airbus A319 which flies a total of 144 passengers

 

For more information contact:
Gatwick Airport press office

t: + 44 (0) 1293 505000
e: gatwickmedia@gatwickairport.com

 

About Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the busiest single-runway airport in the world. It serves around 200 destinations in 90 countries for around 34 million passengers a year on short- and long-haul point-to-point services. It is also a major economic driver for the South-East region, generating around 23,000 on-airport jobs and a further 13,000 jobs through related activities. The airport is 28 miles south of London with excellent public transport links, including the Gatwick Express. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.

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