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The average short-haul flight from Gatwick is 19% cheaper than a flight departing from Heathrow, a new study shows.
However, 87% of travellers search for long-haul flights through Heathrow as opposed to Gatwick, according to analysis by travel search engine Kayak.co.uk.
When the airports go head-to-head on short-haul flights, 56% of searches go through Heathrow and Gatwick falls just short of this at 44%.
Short-haul flights from Gatwick in January were on average 20% cheaper than Heathrow and 18% in March.
Long-haul flights were on average 10% cheaper from Gatwick in March.
The average cost of a return flight in March to Amsterdam from Gatwick came in at £108 compared to £147 from Heathrow and a return flight to Dubai cost £445 from Gatwick, compared to £508 from Heathrow.
Gatwick received on average 10% more searches for short-haul than Heathrow in the first quarter of the year.
But Gatwick experienced 70% fewer searches for long-haul flights. Further to this, Heathrow offered four cheaper long-haul flights in March than Gatwick – New Delhi, Manila, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.
Loella Pehrsson, Kayak’s UK, Ireland and Nordics regional director, said: “Gatwick is clearly undercutting Heathrow in terms of pricing to attract passenger numbers, while Heathrow is still dominating the long-haul flight market.
“Airports are also cooperating very closely with airlines to open new routes and increase travellers’ interest.”