The surprising 2026 growth story of London Gatwick Airport is getting even bigger. Pegasus Airlines is set to begin flights between Istanbul and Gatwick from June 15, giving London’s second-largest airport a new link to Turkey, and pushing its tally of new airlines for the year to nine.

Gatwick will connect to more than 230 destinations this summer, but the recent expansion has been about more than just adding seats. The airport is growing its airline mix, has added over 40 new routes, and is strengthening its position as a lower-cost, easier-access London alternative for carriers that want scale without Heathrow’s slot constraints.

Flying To The Asian Side Of Istanbul

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Gatwick already connects to Istanbul Airport (IST) courtesy of Turkish Airlines, which operates up to four daily flights during its peak summer schedule. The new service from Pegasus will fly from Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW), the city’s secondary airport and low-cost hub, which is situated across the Bosphorus from IST on the Asian side of the city.

Technically, the route is a return, not a debut. Gatwick first welcomed Pegasus from SAW back in 2015, with the route operating six times weekly, but the service later disappeared during the COVID-era upheaval. The new schedule will operate daily, with a slightly earlier start on Sundays compared to the rest of the week:

This will be Pegasus’ second route to London. It has flown to London Stansted Airport (STN) for years, and has up to seven daily Airbus A321neo flights during the peak summer period. Gatwick is therefore becoming the airline’s second London gateway, broadening its footprint and providing more convenient access for those south of the Thames.

For Gatwick, the appeal is obvious. Pegasus adds another recognizable European LCC brand, but more importantly, it adds a carrier with a powerful self-feed hub at Sabiha Gokcen. It also pushes it beyond 40 new routes for the upcoming summer schedule when you add in the expansion of existing carriers.

Nine New Airlines For Summer

Credit: London Gatwick

Pegasus is not arriving at Gatwick in isolation. The airport already said in February that eight new carriers would operate from the airport in summer 2026: Jet2, AirAsia X, Condor, Air Arabia, Air France, Eurowings, AnimaWings, and Beijing Capital Airlines. Pegasus now makes that nine. But note the unusually broad mix, ranging from European leisure brands and legacy operators to long-haul low-cost and China-linked growth. It underlines how Gatwick is expanding not just in volume, but in variety.

Arguably, Gatwick’s most high-profile addition this year will be the addition of leisure carrier Jet2, with the first routes starting from last week in what the airport describes as its “largest airline expansion in a decade.” Jet2 plans to base six aircraft at LGW as part of this initiative, with which it will serve a grand total of 29 holiday destinations located all over Europe. Spain alone will account for 11 of these routes, underlining its importance in the UK leisure market.

There is a clear strategic pattern here. Several of the additions strengthen Gatwick’s core short-haul leisure proposition, but others, like the routes to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Sharjah International Airport, and Qingdao, show that Gatwick is significantly more diverse at the same time. That makes Pegasus a good fit, as it is not only diversifying Gatwick’s destinations, but also tapping into a substantial city pair with proven demand.

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Connecting Europe’s Two Busiest Cities

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Pegasus’ new connection to Gatwick fits into a much bigger story than one route alone. London and Istanbul now support one of Europe’s densest multi-airport battles, with service spread across London Heathrow Airport (LHR), Gatwick, Stansted, and London Luton Airport (LTN) on the British side and split between IST and SAW on the Turkish side. Across the peak summer season, there will now be 27 daily flights between two of Europe’s biggest aviation markets.

The airport-level backdrop is especially striking. Heathrow remained Europe’s busiest airport in 2025 with 84.48 million passengers, but Istanbul Airport was only about 40,000 passengers behind at 84.44 million. Then, in January 2026, Istanbul moved ahead of Heathrow in monthly traffic, handling 6.9 million passengers against Heathrow’s 6.5 million, and is set to be Europe’s busiest this year.

Meanwhile, the secondary airports rank as some of Europe’s largest as well. Sabiha Gokcen continues to grow rapidly, reaching 48.41 million passengers in 2025, up 17% year-on-year. As the world’s busiest single-runway airport, Gatwick saw 43.24 million passengers last year. In other words, Pegasus is linking Gatwick into a London–Istanbul market where both ends are expanding, and neither city is short on ambition.

That is why Pegasus counts as more than just another summer airline launch for Gatwick. The airport is not only collecting new names; it is adding carriers that strengthen competitive city pairs and widen its appeal beyond pure leisure flying. Pegasus gives Gatwick a new airline, a new SAW link, and a stronger foothold in a city market where full-service, low-cost, and hybrid models all compete side by side. For an airport already seeing an unexpected influx of airlines this summer, that is another sign of just how strong Gatwick’s momentum has become.