MORE than 1,000 ‘ghost’ flights took off from Gatwick Airport during the pandemic.

Figures from the Department for Transport found that, during a 19-month period from March 2020 to September 2021, 1,044 flights left either empty or with less than ten per cent capacity.

Airlines traditionally run ‘ghost’ flights when they need to hit thresholds to use valuable take-off and landing slots at congested airports.

Slot rules were suspended at UK airports shortly after the start of the pandemic but were reintroduced at 50 per cent in October 2021.

Anna Hughes, director of campaign group Flight Free UK, said all flights harm the climate – not just empty ones – but that it is "ludicrous" that planes are flying half-empty.

She added: "This is a critical time for the climate and we should be reducing our fossil fuel use, not burning it unnecessarily in near-empty flights.

"The laws of supply and demand say that fewer people flying should mean fewer planes in the air, but somehow this is not reflected in airlines' habits."

Ms Hughes said the practice appears to show airlines are “focused on growth at all costs”.

But a DfT spokeswoman said: “Flights may operate with low passenger numbers for a whole range of reasons, including carrying key workers or vital cargo. 

"However, we acted swiftly to prevent empty aircraft needing to fly solely to retain their slots.”

Gatwick Airport also handled tens of thousands fewer flights last year as the pandemic continued to cripple the aviation industry.

Data from the Civil Aviation Authority found that 55,817 planes took off or landed at Gatwick airport in 2021 - down 30 per cent from 80,161 in 2020, and the lowest number since comparable records began in 2010.

By comparison, there were 284,987 flights in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year saw just 1.6 million flights to and from UK airports – the second-lowest number since 2010, but up from 1.5 million in 2020.

However, despite a rise in the number of flights nationally, the figures show the number of passengers passing through UK airports fell from 74.4 million to 65.4 million – the lowest on record.

This suggests planes were carrying fewer passengers than ever last year, sparking criticism from environmental organisations over the impact on the climate of running emptier flights.

Dr Doug Parr, chief scientist for Greenpeace UK, said: "The aviation industry is perfectly happy to release climate-wrecking emissions even when there aren’t enough passengers for them to make them any money from it.

"Anyone who claims that they’ll decarbonise without being legally compelled to do so is comically naïve.”

The news comes after Gatwick Airport announced a more than £370 million loss due to changing travel restrictions and the Omicron variant.

CEO for the airport Stewart Wingate said: “As it was for many airports, 2021 was a difficult year for Gatwick but, despite constantly changing travel restrictions and the emerging Omicron variant, we managed to end the year strongly and reduced our losses compared to the previous year.

“Today, we find ourselves in a very different position. Major announcements from our airlines about significantly increased flying schedules, and from the government on airport slot regulations and the relaxation of travel restrictions, mean we are now looking forward to a strong summer.”