The reason BA didn’t love Gatwick is because BA was a full service airline offering connections, had in house engineering and handling and also various franchise partners. All were additional costs against almost everyone else at LGW. So whereas BA could command a LHR premium, they couldn’t do the same at LGW. The way to profitability was to cut, slash and simplify. The hub went, handling was outsourced, engineering was cut way back. The “hand me down” fleet ex LHR was supplemented by 3rd hand A320s, something of first for BA. Hence they seemed to get into the black on point to point leisure routes, all of which are actually non core to everything at LHR. Overlap and duplication is the first to go in a travel slump, followed by routes that don’t support the wider strategy (feeding US long haul at LHR, and yes that’s also screwed).
I think the V shaped recovery wasn’t an option for travel. I said months ago this summer was lost, the winter is lost too, any bounce back will be next summer. So it makes no business sense to fly what was already a greatly pruned short haul winter program in this worst of winters out of LGW.
Also worth remebering, easyJet are also in a horrible place, everyone is.