UPDATE 1-Summer's back: UK's Gatwick airport to reopen south terminal in March

(Adds details from statement, background)

LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - UK's second-largest airport
Gatwick said on Friday it would reopen its south terminal next
month, as it expects demand to pick up this summer, with
coronavirus travel curbs having eased.

The airport said a number of airlines will start returning
to the south terminal from March 27. The terminal shut down for
nearly two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Airlines including British Airways, Dublin-based,
Aer Lingus, Oslo-listed Norwegian Air and low-cost
carriers Vueling, Wizz Air and Ryanair will
operate from the terminal, while easyJet will operate
across south and north terminals.

Passenger numbers, particularly in international travel, are
expected to pick up as virus-related restrictions have either
been completely lifted or are being gradually eased in major
economies.

Ryanair last week laid out expectations that pent-up demand
could lead to record summer passenger numbers.

Still, the possibility of new variants poses a threat to a
sustained rebound and Gatwick Chief Executive Stewart Wingate
warned that it may take time for consumer confidence to fully
recover.

Highlighting some of the persistent uncertainty, Britain's
biggest airport Heathrow warned earlier in the day of a slow
start to 2022 due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the
virus even as it set a more positive tone for the summer.
(Reporting by Muvija M in London; editing by William James)