Eurowings

London-Gatwick confirms Eurowings will launch two routes to Cologne and Stuttgart

Eurowings will offer up to 19 weekly departures to Cologne and Stuttgart, Germany.

Photo: Eurowings

London Gatwick Airport (LGW) has confirmed that Eurowings, which acquired slots at the airport from ITA Airways and through the allocation process, will launch services to two German airports, Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN) and Stuttgart Airport (STR).

On January 29, 2026, LGW said that Eurowings, the short-haul leisure carrier of Lufthansa Group, will launch flights to CGN and STR during the upcoming summer season. From March 29, it will offer 13 weekly departures to CGN, and from April 13, the airline will operate six weekly departures to STR.

The airport’s statement also noted that in addition to the two new Germany-bound routes, Condor acquired slots to fly three daily departures between LGW and Frankfurt Airport (FRA).

Jonny Macneal, the Head of Aviation Development at LGW, said that the airport is delighted to welcome Eurowings, which will offer more choice and convenience for customers flying to Germany.

Airport Coordination Limited (ACL), the slot coordinator for the airport, disclosed on January 19 that ITA Airways will temporarily lease its LGW slots to Eurowings. The latter also requested 780 movements from/to LGW through the normal allocation process, receiving 360 slots at the airport for the upcoming summer season.

Acquiring slots at London Stansted

However, ACL’s records also showed that Eurowings acquired 480 slots at London Stansted Airport (STN) for the summer 2026 season, possibly indicating that it could begin flights from the airport as well.

So far, the carrier has not scheduled any services from/to STN.

Cirium’s Diio Mi indicated that in April, a few days after the summer 2026 season begins, Eurowings will operate five routes from London Heathrow Airport (LHR), including 18 weekly departures to CGN and STR each.

The other three routes include flights to Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), and Hamburg Airport (HAM).

Lack of slots at LHR

In the latest slot coordination report for LHR for the upcoming summer season, ACL disclosed that several other Lufthansa Group airlines, including Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Lufthansa, and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), had requested a total of 2,534 additional slots at the airport.

Four of those carriers were granted some extra slots at LHR: Austrian Airlines (two), Brussels Airlines (four), Lufthansa (six), and SWISS, which, out of the 1,262 it had requested, got two.

Knowing the scarcity of slots at the airport, and Eurowings’ sizeable slot portfolio of 4,920 movements at LHR, it would not be surprising that the group would gradually move its low-cost carrier to other airports serving the British capital, allocating its slots to the mainline carriers.

Lufthansa already transferred some of its LHR slots to ITA Airways, enabling the Italian carrier to return to the city’s main gateway with double-daily departures to Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO).