Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick
, is a major international airport near
Crawley
Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
,
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
, England, south of
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...
.
In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by
total passenger traffic in the UK, after
Heathrow
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
and
Stansted
London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London.
London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...
airports, and was the
36th-busiest in Europe by total passenger traffic. It covers a total area of .
Gatwick opened as an aerodrome in the late 1920s; it has been in use for commercial flights since 1933. The airport has two terminals, the North Terminal and the South Terminal, which cover areas of and respectively. It operates as a single-runway airport, using a main runway with a length of . A secondary runway is available but, due to its proximity to the main runway, can only be used if the main runway is not in use. In 2018, 46.1 million passengers passed through the airport, a 1.1% increase compared with 2017.
[ ]
History
The land on which Gatwick Airport stands was first developed as an
aerodrome
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
in the late 1920s. The
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
approved commercial flights from the site in 1933, and the first terminal, "
The Beehive", was built in 1935. Scheduled air services from the new terminal began the following year. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the airport was taken over by the military and was known as RAF Gatwick. After the war, the airport returned to its civilian capacity. Major development work at the airport took place during the 1950s. The airport buildings were designed by
Yorke Rosenberg Mardall
Yorke Rosenberg Mardall (Yorke, Rosenberg and Mardall, YRM) was a British architectural firm established by F. R. S. Yorke (1906-1962), Eugene Rosenberg (1907-1990) and Cyril Mardall (Sjöström) (1909-1994) in 1944.Melvin, Jeremy (1997). Obituar ...
between 1955 and 1988.
![Gatwick_Airport,_1970a_geograph-3212288-by-Ben-Brooksbank](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Gatwick_Airport%2C_1970a_geograph-3212288-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg)
In the 1960s,
British United Airways
British United Airways (BUA) was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest whol ...
(BUA) and
Dan-Air
Dan-Air (Dan Air Services Limited) was an airline based in the United Kingdom and a wholly owned subsidiary of London shipbroking firm Davies and Newman. It was started in 1953 with a single aircraft. Initially, it operated cargo and passenger ...
were two of the largest British independent
[independent from ]government-owned corporation
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
s airlines at Gatwick, with the former establishing itself as the dominant scheduled operator at the airport as well as providing a significant number of the airport's non-scheduled services and the latter becoming its leading provider of
inclusive tour
A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the ho ...
charter services. Further rapid growth of charter flights at Gatwick was encouraged by the
Ministry of Aviation
The Ministry of Aviation was a department of the United Kingdom government established in 1959. Its responsibilities included the regulation of civil aviation and the supply of military aircraft, which it took on from the Ministry of Supply.
...
, which instructed airlines to move regular charter flights from Heathrow. Following the takeover of BUA by
Caledonian Airways at the beginning of the following decade, the resulting airline,
British Caledonian
British Caledonian (BCal) was a British private independent airline which operated out of Gatwick Airport in south-east England during the 1970s and 1980s. It was created as an alternative to the British government-controlled corporation airlin ...
(BCal), became Gatwick's dominant scheduled airline during the 1970s. While continuing to dominate scheduled operations at Gatwick for most of the 1980s, BCal was also one of the airport's major charter airlines until the end of the 1970s (together with Dan-Air,
Laker Airways
Laker Airways was a private British airline founded by Sir Freddie Laker in 1966. It was originally a charter airline flying passengers and cargo worldwide. Its head office was located at Gatwick Airport in Crawley, England.
It became the sec ...
and
British Airtours
British Airtours (stylised as British aırtours) was a British charter airline with flight operations out of London Gatwick and Manchester Airports.
Established as BEA Airtours in 1969, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways ...
).
[Iyengar, K., ''Bermuda Bloomers'', ''Golden Gatwick'', ''Skyport'', Gatwick edition, Hounslow, 8 February 2008, p. 18] As a result of conditions imposed by Britain's
Monopolies and Mergers Commission
The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under UK competition law, competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competiti ...
on the takeover of BCal by the then newly privatised
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
(BA) at the end of the 1980s, Dan-Air and
Air Europe
Air Europe was a wholly privately owned, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline, established in 1978 under the working title Inter European Airways.Simons It adopted the Air Europe name the following year. Its ...
assumed BCal's former role as Gatwick's dominant scheduled short-haul operator while BA continued in BCal's erstwhile role as the airport's most important scheduled long-haul operator. Following the demise of Air Europe and Dan-Air (both of which had continued to provide a significant number of charter flights in addition to a growing number of scheduled short-haul flights at Gatwick) in the early 1990s, BA began building up Gatwick into a secondary
hub (complementing its main hub at Heathrow). These moves resulted in BA becoming Gatwick's dominant airline by the turn of the millennium.
[Iyengar, K., ''The only way is up'', ''Golden Gatwick'', ''Skyport'', Gatwick edition, Hounslow, 11 April 2008, p. 16] BA's subsequent decision to de-hub Gatwick provided the space for
EasyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
to establish its biggest base at the airport and to become its dominant airline.
BAA Limited
BAA or Baa may refer to:
Letters and sounds
* Baa, onomatopoeic representation of the noise made by sheep
*Bāʾ, the Arabic letter ب
* Baa, the fifth consonant of the Thaana script used in the Dhivehi language
Places
* Baa Atoll, an administr ...
(now
Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited
Heathrow Airport Holdings is the United Kingdom-based operator of Heathrow Airport. The company also operated Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport, Edinburgh Airport and several other UK airports, but was forced by the Competition Commission to se ...
) and its predecessors, BAA plc and the British Airports Authority, owned and operated Gatwick from 1 April 1966 to 2 December 2009.
From 1978 to 2008, many flights to and from the United States used Gatwick because of restrictions on the use of Heathrow implemented in the
Bermuda II agreement
Bermuda II was a bilateral air transport agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States signed on 23 July 1977 as a renegotiation of the original 1946 Bermuda air services agreement. A new open skies agreement was s ...
between the UK and the US. The US-based carriers that flew to Gatwick were
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
(from
Dallas/Fort Worth,
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
,
New York–JFK,
Raleigh/Durham
The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to th ...
and
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
),
Braniff
Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...
(from
Dallas/Fort Worth),
Continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' ( ...
(from
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Houston–Intercontinental and
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
),
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
(from
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
and
New York–JFK),
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
(from
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
),
Northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
(from
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
and
Minneapolis/St. Paul),
PeoplExpress (from
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
),
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
(from
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
),
TWA
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...
(from
New York–JFK and
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
), and
US Airways
US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...
(from
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
).
US Airways
US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...
, Gatwick's last remaining US carrier, ended its service between Gatwick and
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
on 30 March 2013.
This left Gatwick without a scheduled US airline for the first time in 35 years. Prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
,
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
announced its intent to launch service between Gatwick and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in summer 2020, which would have made it the first US airline to service Gatwick since the withdrawal of the US Airways service in 2013, but the massive global travel downturn placed these plans on indefinite hold.
In 2021
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
became the first US airline to serve Gatwick since 2013, with services to
New York–JFK and Boston.
On 17 September 2008, BAA announced it would sell Gatwick after the
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...
published a report about BAA's market dominance in London and the
South East
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
. On 21 October 2009, it was announced that an agreement had been reached to sell Gatwick to a consortium led by
Global Infrastructure Partners
Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is an infrastructure investment fund making equity and selected debt investments. GIP's main headquarters are located in New York City and its equity investments are based on infrastructure assets in the energ ...
(GIP), who also have a
controlling interest
A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the majo ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
[as of May 2012] airport, for £1.51 billion. The sale was completed on 3 December.
In February 2010, GIP sold minority stakes in the airport of 12% and 15% to the South Korean National Pension Service and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for £100 million and £125 million, respectively. The sales were part of GIP's
strategy
Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...
to
syndicate
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest.
Etymology
The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French language, Frenc ...
the
equity
Equity may refer to:
Finance, accounting and ownership
* Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them
** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business
** Home equity, the dif ...
portion of the original acquisition by issuing
bonds to
refinance bank debt. Although this entails bringing additional investors into the airport, GIP aims to retain
management control
Control is a function of management which helps to check errors in order to take corrective actions. This is done to minimize deviation from standards and ensure that the stated goals of the organization are achieved in a desired manner.
Accordi ...
.
The
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
n state pension fund
CalPERS
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is an agency in the California executive branch that "manages pension and health benefits for more than 1.5 million California public employees, retirees, and their families".CalPERSFa ...
acquired a 12.7% stake in Gatwick Airport for about $155 million (£104.8 million) in June 2010.
On 21 December 2010, the
A$69 billion (£44 billion) Future Fund, a sovereign wealth fund established by the Australian government in 2006, agreed to purchase a 17.2% stake in Gatwick Airport from GIP for £145 million. This transaction completed GIP's syndication process for the airport, reducing its stake to 42% (although the firm's extra
voting rights
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...
meant it still controlled the airport's
board).
In August 2020, the airport announced that has plans to cut over a quarter of its employees as a result of a planned company restructuring caused by the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The planned cuts will bring the total workforce of the airport to 1,900; before the start of the pandemic it was 3,300, however, an additional 785 jobs were cut earlier in 2020.
Ownership
The airport is owned and operated by Gatwick Airport Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ivy Holdco Limited, owned by
Global Infrastructure Partners
Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is an infrastructure investment fund making equity and selected debt investments. GIP's main headquarters are located in New York City and its equity investments are based on infrastructure assets in the energ ...
(GIP), among others. In December 2018,
Vinci announced that it would acquire 50.01% majority stake for £2.9bn, with a GIP-managed consortium of investors (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Australia's sovereign wealth fund and two public pension funds in California and South Korea) owning the remaining 49.9%. The sale was completed by the middle of 2019.
In August 2021, it was reported that Gatwick's operators were in talks with lenders following posting first-half year net losses of £245m.
Operations
Facilities
On 31 May 2008,
Virgin Holidays opened the V Room, Gatwick's first lounge dedicated to their long-haul leisure travellers. On 25 January 2017, the lounge moved to the North Terminal together with the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse as part of the airline moves that saw British Airways and Virgin Atlantic exchange their previous terminal locations and EasyJet consolidated in the North Terminal. On 9 April 2009, an independent pay-for-access lounge opened in the South Terminal. Gatwick also has a conference and business centre, and several on- and off-site hotels ranging in class from executive to
economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
.
The airport has
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
, Catholic and
Free Church
A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...
chaplains, and there are
multi-faith prayer and counselling rooms in each terminal. A daily service is led by one of the chaplains.
The
Civil Aviation Authority Safety Regulation Group is in Aviation House.
WesternGeco
WesternGeco is a geophysical services company. It is headquartered in Schlumberger House on the property of London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex, in Greater London.
__NOTOC__
Background
The company provides reservoir imaging, moni ...
, a geophysical services company, has its head office and Europe–Africa–Russia offices in Schlumberger House, a building on the airport grounds
[Eade, Christine (8 June 2007).]
The market in minutes – Sussex
. . ''Property Week
''Property Week'' is a UK business-to-business magazine which reports on the worldwide commercial and residential property market. It reports news, features and analysis and the latest information from the industry - from development opportunit ...
''. Retrieved 12 February 2011. near the South Terminal. The company had a 15-year lease on the building, scheduled to expire in June 2008. In 2007, WesternGeco reached an agreement with its landlord, BAA Lynton, extending its lease to 2016 at an initial rent of £2.1 million.
Fastjet
Fastjet Limited is a UK based holding company of fastjet Zimbabwe, an airline operating in Africa. The airline was initially created following the acquisition of Fly540, an airline operating in East Africa; flights in fastjet's own name commen ...
has its
registered and head offices at Suite 2C in First Point at the airport.
Before the sale, BAA planned an £874 million investment at Gatwick over five years, including increased capacity for both terminals, improvements to transport interchange and a new baggage system for the South Terminal. Passengers passing through the airport are informed about the redevelopment programme with large
mobile barcodes on top of construction hoardings. Scanning these transfers information on the construction to the user's
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
.
In summer 2013, Gatwick introduced Gatwick Connect, a free flight connection service to assist passengers changing flights at Gatwick whose airlines do not provide a full flight connection service. On 15 September 2015, the service was rebranded as "GatwickConnects".
It is available to passengers connecting on several major airlines.
Flight movements
![Gatwick_Air_Traffic_Control_tower_-_geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Gatwick_Air_Traffic_Control_tower_-_geograph.org.uk_-_237405.jpg)
Gatwick operates as a single-runway airport although it has two runways; the northern runway (08L/26R) can only be used when the main runway (08R/26L) is out of use for any reason. The UK Integrated Aeronautical Information Package gives the Takeoff Run Available (TORA) of its main runway (08R/26L) as 3,255 m when aircraft take off in a westerly direction (26) and 3,159 m when takeoffs occur in an easterly direction (08). The documentation lists the respective TORA for the northern runway (08L/26R) as 2,565 m in both directions. Nearly three-quarters of takeoffs are towards the west (74% over a 12-month period). Both runways are wide; they are apart, which is insufficient for the simultaneous use of both runways. During normal operations the northern runway is used as a taxiway,
consistent with its original construction (although it was gradually widened).
In October 2018, the airport announced that it was "exploring how to make best use of its existing runways, including the possibility of bringing its existing standby runway into routine use". One scenario would see 08L/26R used for departing narrow-body aircraft only, while the longer 08R/26L would be used for wide-body take-offs and all landings; widening 08L/26R would also increase the centreline separation slightly. New technology could also be used to increase capacity on the main runway, and in the longer term the airport remains interested in constructing a new runway to the south.
The main runway uses a Category III
Instrument Landing System
In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...
(ILS). The northern runway does not have an ILS; when it is in use, arriving aircraft are radar vectored to intercept a RNAV (
GNSS
A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude/elevation) to high pr ...
) approach, providing the aircraft is equipped and the operator has approval. This approach is satellite based and is also available for the main runway. When an RNAV approach is not possible, assistance from the approach controller using surveillance radar, a 'SRA approach' is available. This involves heading instructions and altitude callouts supplied by the Air Traffic Controller. On both runways, a
continuous descent approach is used to minimise the environmental effects of incoming aircraft, particularly at night.
Night flights are subject to restrictions; between 11 pm and 7 am, noisier aircraft (rated
QC/8 and QC/16) may not operate. From 11.30 pm to 6 am (the night quota period) there are three limits: Number of flights, a
Quota Count system, limiting total noise permitted and no night
QC/4 flights.
Security
The airport is policed by the Gatwick District of
Sussex Police. The district is responsible for the entire airport (including aircraft) and, in certain circumstances, aircraft in flight. The 150 officers attached to this district include armed and unarmed officers, and
community support officers for minor offences. The airport district counters
man-portable surface-to-air missiles (MANPADS) by patrolling in and around the airport and a separate sub-unit has vehicle checks around the airport.
Access to airside portions of the airport is controlled and maintained by the airport's team of security officers, regulated by the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
.
Brook House, an immigration-removal centre of
Immigration Enforcement
Immigration Enforcement (IE) is a law enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for enforcing immigration law across United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from its establishment in 2008 until Hom ...
, was opened near the airport on 18 March 2009 by the then
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill Smith (born 3 November 1962) is a British broadcaster, political commentator and former Labour Party politician. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Redditch from 1997 to 2010. She served as Home Secretary from 2007 to 2009 ...
.
Major airlines
![Bridge_to_Pier_6,_Gatwick_North_Terminal_-_geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Bridge_to_Pier_6%2C_Gatwick_North_Terminal_-_geograph.org.uk_-_74055.jpg)
The airport is a base for scheduled airlines
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
(BA),
EasyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
,
Wizz Air
Wizz Air, legally incorporated as Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. ( hu, Wizz Air Hungary Légiközlekedési Zrt.) is a Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier with its head office in Budapest, Hungary. The airline serves many cities across Europe, as well as s ...
, and charter operators such as
TUI Airways
TUI Airways Limited (formerly Thomsonfly and Thomson Airways) is a British charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
The airline is t ...
. Gatwick is unique amongst London's airports in its representation of the three main airline business models: full service,
low-cost and
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
. As of October 2016, these respectively accounted for 26.6%,
[excluding scheduled regional air services] 61.3%
and 13.1%
[including scheduled regional air services] of Gatwick's seat capacity.
By late 2015,
EasyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
flew over 100 routes from Gatwick with a fleet of more than 60 aircraft.
The airport is the carrier's largest base, and its 16 million passengers per year accounted for 45% of Gatwick's 2013 total
(ahead of Gatwick's second-largest passenger airline: BA, whose 4.5 million passengers comprised 14% of total passenger traffic in 2011–12).
[1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012]
EasyJet, BA and
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
were Gatwick's three biggest resident airlines, although in late 2020 Norwegian announced the closure of its base at Gatwick. According to data from Airport Coordination Limited, these three airlines respectively accounted for 43.3%, 19% and 10.5% of
airport slots __NOTOC__
A landing slot, takeoff slot, or airport slot is a permission granted by the owner of an airport designated as Level 3 (Coordinated Airport), which allows the grantee to schedule a landing or departure at that airport during a specific t ...
in April 2018. According to this data, by April 2018 Norwegian had overtaken
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...
as Gatwick's number one
transatlantic
Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to:
Film
* Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950
* Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s
* ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...
airline by seat capacity, and BA's competitive response to Norwegian's growing commercial threat to its transatlantic business would result in Virgin's relegation to third position among the airport's transatlantic airlines during the 2018 summer timetable period. EasyJet, BA and Norwegian collectively accounted for 65.43% of Gatwick's total passengers in 2016 (EasyJet: 40.37% / 17.4 million; BA: 14.39% / 6.2 million; Norwegian: 10.67% / 4.6 million).
As per
Official Airline Guide
OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, flight st ...
(OAG) data for the week of 29 May 2017, their respective international departure seat capacity shares at the airport for summer 2017 are: 42.1%, 15.4% and 9.4%.
In terms of passengers carried, EasyJet and BA were also among the five largest airlines operating at Gatwick in 2010 (which also included
TUI Airways
TUI Airways Limited (formerly Thomsonfly and Thomson Airways) is a British charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
The airline is t ...
and
Thomas Cook Airlines
Thomas Cook Airlines Limited was a British charter and scheduled airline headquartered in Manchester, England. It was founded in 2007 from the merger of Thomas Cook Group and MyTravel Group, and was part of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. It ...
at the time) and the top 10 in 2015.
In terms of total scheduled airline seats at Gatwick in 2014, EasyJet accounted for 18.36 million, more than two-and-a-half times as many as second-placed BA (seven million) and nearly five times the number offered by third-placed Norwegian Air Shuttle (3.74 million). Using data sourced from the
OAG Schedules Analyser, the following changes in the respective departure seat capacity shares of Gatwick's three biggest airlines occurred from 2010 to 2015: EasyJet's share increased from 26.1% in 2010 to 42.1% in 2015; BA's share dropped from 18.3% in 2010 to 15% in 2015; Norwegian's share rose almost three-fold from less than 3% in 2010 to 8.3% in 2015. EasyJet, BA, Norwegian, TUI Airways,
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...
,
Thomas Cook Airlines
Thomas Cook Airlines Limited was a British charter and scheduled airline headquartered in Manchester, England. It was founded in 2007 from the merger of Thomas Cook Group and MyTravel Group, and was part of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. It ...
,
Monarch Airlines,
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...
,
Vueling
Vueling S.A. is a Spanish low-cost airline based at El Prat de Llobregat in Greater Barcelona with hubs at Barcelona–El Prat Airport (main), Paris-Orly Airport in Paris, France and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy (second ...
and
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
were Gatwick's top 10 airlines by share of passengers in 2017.
EasyJet's acquisition of BA franchise carrier
GB Airways
GB Airways was a British airline; prior to its sale, it was headquartered in "The Beehive," a former terminal building, at City Place Gatwick, London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex, England.
The airline was originally created as ' ...
in March 2008 increased its share of airport slots to 24% (from 17% in late 2007); the airline became the largest short-haul operator at the airport, accounting for 29% of short-haul passengers. By 2009, BA's share of Gatwick slots had fallen to 20% from its peak of 40% in 2001.
By 2010, this had declined to 16%.
By mid-2012, EasyJet had 45% of Gatwick's early-morning peak time slots (6 am to 8:55 am).
[British Airways, 15%; Thomson Airways, 11%; Monarch Airlines, 7%; Flybe and Thomas Cook Airlines, 6% each]
By 2008,
Flybe
Flybe (pronounced ), styled as flybe, is a British airline based at Birmingham Airport, England.
History
The airline traces its history back to Jersey European Airways, which was set up in 1979 following the merger of Intra Airways and Expre ...
was Gatwick's third-largest airline (accounting for 9% of its slots) and its fastest-growing airline.
It became the airport's largest domestic operator, carrying 1.2 million passengers in its 2011–12 financial year on eight routes to destinations in the UK, the Channel Islands and the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
.
In March 2013, the airline announced that it would end operations at Gatwick, citing unsustainably high airport charges and increases in UK
Air Passenger Duty
Air Passenger Duty (APD) is an excise duty which is charged on the carriage of passengers flying from a United Kingdom or Isle of Man airport on an aircraft that has an authorised take-off weight of more than 5.7 tonnes or more than twenty se ...
. Flybe sold its 25 pairs of daily slots
[including eight early-morning peak-time slot pairs] at the airport to EasyJet for £20 million.
The latter's share of Gatwick slots increased to 44% in summer 2014; second-placed BA has held about 16% of the airport's slots since 2010.
Following the sale of its Gatwick slots to EasyJet, Flybe continued to provide the scheduled service between Gatwick and
Newquay
Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...
, as a result of being awarded the contract to fly this route under a four-year
Public Service Obligation (PSO), until the flight was subsequently moved from Gatwick to
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
in April 2019.
The
EU–US Open Skies Agreement
The EU–US Open Skies Agreement is an open skies air transport agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United States (US). The agreement allows any airline of the European Union and any airline of the United States to fly between ...
, which became effective on 30 March 2008, led a number of airlines to downsize their transatlantic operations at Gatwick in favour of Heathrow.
Continental Airlines was the second transatlantic carrier (after
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
) to leave Gatwick after its decision to transfer the seasonal
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
service to Heathrow on 3 May 2009.
Slots left by the US carriers (and the collapse of
Zoom Airlines
Zoom Airlines Inc. was a Canadian low-fare scheduled transatlantic airline with its headquarters in the Place Bell Canada building in Ottawa, Ontario. Zoom operated year-round scheduled services to Europe, and charter services to South A ...
,
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Limited () was a long-haul, low-cost Asian airline. It operated scheduled services to London Gatwick Airport and Vancouver International Airport from its hub, Hong Kong International Airport. The airline offered low ...
,
XL Airways UK
XL Airways was a British low-cost charter and scheduled airline, which ceased operations when it went into administration on 12 September 2008. Its headquarters were in Crawley, West Sussex, near London Gatwick Airport. It was part of the XL ...
,
Sterling Airlines,
Monarch Airlines,
Thomas Cook Airlines
Thomas Cook Airlines Limited was a British charter and scheduled airline headquartered in Manchester, England. It was founded in 2007 from the merger of Thomas Cook Group and MyTravel Group, and was part of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. It ...
, and
Adria Airways
Adria Airways d.o.o. (formerly ''Inex-Adria Aviopromet'' and later ''Inex-Adria Airways'') was the flag carrier of Slovenia, operating scheduled and charter services to European destinations. The company's head office was at Ljubljana Jože Pu ...
) were taken by EasyJet,
Flybe
Flybe (pronounced ), styled as flybe, is a British airline based at Birmingham Airport, England.
History
The airline traces its history back to Jersey European Airways, which was set up in 1979 following the merger of Intra Airways and Expre ...
,
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Norway's largest airline. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe behind Wizz Air, easyJet and Ryanair, the ...
and
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...
. A number of full-service airlines have established or resumed operations at the airport, including
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...
,
Air China
Air China Limited () is the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China and one of the "Big Three" mainland Chinese airlines (alongside China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines). Air China's headquarters are in Shunyi District, ...
,
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...
,
WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, near Calgary International Airport. It is the second-largest Canadian airline, behind Air Canada, operating an average of 777 flights and carrying more than 66,130 ...
,
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netw ...
,
China Eastern Airlines
China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (), also known as China Eastern, is an airline headquartered in the China Eastern Airlines Building, on the grounds of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Changning District, Shanghai. It is ...
,
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
, and
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
. This is part of the airport's strategy to attract higher-spending
business travel
Business travel is travel undertaken for work or business purposes, as opposed to other types of travel, such as for leisure purposes or regularly commuting between one's home and workplace. According to a survey, 88% small business owners e ...
lers (countering its dependence on European low-cost and charter markets), increasing year-round
capacity utilisation
Capacity utilization or capacity utilisation is the extent to which a firm or nation employs its installed productive capacity. It is the relationship between output that ''is'' produced with the installed equipment, and the potential output whic ...
by smoothing peaks and troughs in traffic. Gatwick's success in persuading these airlines to launch (or re-launch) routes to overseas destinations important for business and
leisure travel was aided by a lack of comparable slots at Heathrow.
On 5 May 2020,
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...
announced it would cease operations at Gatwick due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. On 18 August 2020,
Wizz Air
Wizz Air, legally incorporated as Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. ( hu, Wizz Air Hungary Légiközlekedési Zrt.) is a Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier with its head office in Budapest, Hungary. The airline serves many cities across Europe, as well as s ...
announced a new hub at Gatwick Airport. Initially basing their A321 aircraft there along with additional commercial routes to Greece, Italy, Spain, and Malta operating from 22 October 2020, onwards.
In September 2021, the
International Airlines Group
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A., trading as International Airlines Group and usually shortened to IAG, is an Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company with its registered office in Madrid, Spain, and its global headq ...
announced that
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
will terminate its short- and medium-haul base operations at Gatwick with immediate effect resulting in the cancellation of more than 30 routes. This came after labour negotiations regarding the handover of these operations, most of which were still suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to a newly formed budget subsidiary failed. British Airways continues to serve two domestic destinations, Glasgow and Manchester alongside their long-haul network from Gatwick.
British Airways has now resumed short haul flights from Gatwick, as a new subsidiary which will be initially operated by British Airways, but will soon be managed under the trading name 'EuroFlyer' The company expects this to happen by Autumn 2022.
City Place Gatwick
Gatwick's original terminal, the Beehive, is included within the City Place Gatwick office complex together with 1, 2 and 3 City Place.
The complex was developed by BAA Lynton. A number of airlines have had offices at the Beehive, including
BEA/British Airways Helicopters,
Jersey Airlines
Jersey Airlines was an early post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed in 1948. In 1952, the airline operated its first scheduled service. Four years later, British European Ai ...
,
Caledonian Airways, Virgin Atlantic and
GB Airways
GB Airways was a British airline; prior to its sale, it was headquartered in "The Beehive," a former terminal building, at City Place Gatwick, London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex, England.
The airline was originally created as ' ...
.
[The Beehive]
. GB Airways
GB Airways was a British airline; prior to its sale, it was headquartered in "The Beehive," a former terminal building, at City Place Gatwick, London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex, England.
The airline was originally created as ' ...
. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
Other airlines which had headquarters on airport property (including office buildings on the site of, or adjacent to, the original 1930s airport) include
British Caledonian
British Caledonian (BCal) was a British private independent airline which operated out of Gatwick Airport in south-east England during the 1970s and 1980s. It was created as an alternative to the British government-controlled corporation airlin ...
,
British United Airways
British United Airways (BUA) was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest whol ...
,
CityFlyer Express
CityFlyer Express was a short-haul regional airline with its head office in the Iain Stewart Centre next to London Gatwick Airport in England.
In 1993 it became the first British Airways (BA) franchisee operating as ''British Airways Express''. ...
,
Fastjet
Fastjet Limited is a UK based holding company of fastjet Zimbabwe, an airline operating in Africa. The airline was initially created following the acquisition of Fly540, an airline operating in East Africa; flights in fastjet's own name commen ...
,
Laker Airways
Laker Airways was a private British airline founded by Sir Freddie Laker in 1966. It was originally a charter airline flying passengers and cargo worldwide. Its head office was located at Gatwick Airport in Crawley, England.
It became the sec ...
and
Tradewinds Airways
Tradewinds Airways Ltd was a British all-cargo airline. Its head office was located in Timberham House, on the property of London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, England.
History
Tradewinds was founded in November 1968 after the collapse of ...
.
[ "Head Office: Gatwick Airport, Horley. Surrey."]
Gatwick Aviation Museum
Situated to the north-west of the airfield near the village of
Charlwood
Charlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The historic county boundary between Surre ...
, there is a museum including original items and photographs from Gatwick's history, as well as a variety of military aircraft. It is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday all year round.
Terminals
![Gatwick_Airport_North_Terminal_shuttle_transit_arrival_platform_look_north](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Gatwick_Airport_North_Terminal_shuttle_transit_arrival_platform_look_north.jpg)
The airport has two terminals with 65 total gates, South and North. Both have shops and restaurants landside and airside, and all areas are accessible to disabled passengers. There are facilities for baby changing and feeding. Business travellers have specialised lounges. The North and South Terminals are connected by a 0.75-mile (1.21 km), elevated, two-way automated
people mover
A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
landside. They are not connected once past security.
South Terminal
South Terminal has 32 gates. The official opening of the central and main pier of what is now the South Terminal, with 11 aircraft stands, was on 9 June 1958. Gatwick was one of the world's first airports with an enclosed
pier
image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.
A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...
-based terminal, which allowed passengers to walk under cover to waiting areas near the aircraft (with only a short walk outdoors).
Another feature of Gatwick's new air terminal was its
modular design, permitting subsequent, phased expansion.
[''Golden Gatwick—50 Years of Aviation'', Chapter 8] As passenger numbers grew, a circular satellite pier was added to the terminal building. It was connected to the main terminal by the UK's first automated
people mover
A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
system.
This replaced the original North pier dating from 1962; and the people mover was subsequently replaced with a walkway and
travelators.
The South Terminal was temporarily closed from June 2020, and all airlines normally operating from this terminal were relocated to the North Terminal, owing to the sharp decline in passenger traffic as a result of the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It fully reopened in March 2022.
North Terminal
North Terminal has 33 gates, including three which can support an Airbus A380. Construction began on the North Terminal on land previously earmarked for a second runway in the draft plan of May 1970. This was the largest construction project south of London in the 1980s, costing £200 million.
In 1991 a second aircraft pier was added to the North Terminal. On 16 May 2005 the new Pier 6 opened at a cost of £110 million, adding 11 pier-served aircraft stands. The pier is linked to the North Terminal's main building by the second-largest air passenger bridge in the world, spanning a taxiway and providing passengers with views of the airport and taxiing aircraft.
A large extension to the terminal was opened by former Prime Minister
John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
in November 2011.
Terminal assignments and rearrangements
As part of a seven-year strategic commercial partnership between Gatwick and
EasyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
, the airport proposed a number of changes to individual airlines' terminal locations. These would see EasyJet consolidate all its Gatwick operations in the North Terminal, while
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
and
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...
would swap their terminals. Gatwick believes that these terminal moves improve the airport's operational efficiency and resilience, as the use of different terminals by EasyJet and British Airways reduces pressure on the North Terminal's check-in, security, boarding and
ramp
An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...
areas at peak times. In addition, a terminal swap by Virgin frees up lounge and gate space for BA long-haul passengers in the South Terminal and, unlike BA's current short-haul schedules, Virgin's long-haul schedules do not clash with EasyJet's busy schedule in the North Terminal due to the airlines' differing peak times.
It was confirmed in January 2015 that British Airways would move all its flights to the South Terminal in November 2016 while all EasyJet flights will be consolidated in the North Terminal at the same time.
However it was decided in February 2016 to postpone the agreed relocation of airlines until 25 January 2017, to avoid operational disruptions over the 2016–17 Christmas season and to give all parties involved enough time to deal with any unforeseen issues ahead of the
February 2017 half-term holidays. The relocation of these airlines was accomplished by the revised date on 25 January 2017.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Gatwick Airport:
Traffic and statistics
Overview
In 2015, Gatwick became the first single-runway airport to handle more than 40 million passengers annually.
By 2016,
EasyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
accounted for over 40% of Gatwick's total passengers.
When ranked by
global passenger traffic, Gatwick is 35th busiest internationally and the eighth
busiest airport in Europe. Gatwick is the world's leading
low-cost airport and until March 2017 had the world's busiest single-use runway,
[by passengers; by movements until 2016] with a maximum of 55 aircraft movements per hour.
Busiest routes
Traffic
Gatwick handled 186,172 passengers during its first seven months of operation after the 1956–58 reconstruction; the annual number of passengers passing through the airport was 368,000 in 1959 and 470,000 in 1960.
["Gatwick Airport History", Business & Community Reference Guide for in and around Crawley 2008/09, Wealden Marketing, 2008, p. 85][''Golden Gatwick—50 Years of Aviation'', Chapter 9]
Passenger numbers reached one million for the first time during the 1962–63 fiscal year,
[1 April 1962 to 31 March 1963] with
British United Airways
British United Airways (BUA) was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest whol ...
(BUA) accounting for four-fifths. The 1.5 million mark was exceeded for the first time during the 1966–67 fiscal year.
[1 April 1966 to 31 March 1967] This was also the first time more than half a million scheduled passengers used the airport. Gatwick accommodated two million passengers for the first time during the 1967–68 fiscal year
[1 April 1967 to 31 March 1968] and three million in the 1969–70 fiscal year,
[1 April 1969 to 31 March 1970] with BUA accounting for nearly half. By the early 1970s, 5 million passengers used Gatwick each year, with a record 5.7 million during the 1973–74 fiscal year.
[1 April 1973 to 31 March 1974] During that period,
British Caledonian
British Caledonian (BCal) was a British private independent airline which operated out of Gatwick Airport in south-east England during the 1970s and 1980s. It was created as an alternative to the British government-controlled corporation airlin ...
accounted for approximately half of all charter passengers and three-fourths of scheduled passengers.
[''Golden Gatwick—50 Years of Aviation'', Chapter 10] Within a decade annual passenger numbers doubled, to 10 million; they doubled again, to over 20 million, by the late 1980s.
[''The Gatwick Express'', p. 42] By the turn of the millennium, Gatwick handled more than 30 million passengers annually.
46.1 million passengers passed through Gatwick in 2018, an increase of 1.1% over the previous year.
North Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
and other long-haul
[excluding North Atlantic] traffic recorded increases over the previous year of 24.4% and 12.7% to 4.04 million and 4.65 million passengers, respectively. UK,
[including the ]Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
and the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
European charter,
[including North Africa] Irish and European scheduled passenger traffic recorded decreases over the previous year of 8.7%, 5.7%, 1.1% and 0.9% to 3.73 million, 2.88 million, 1.67 million and 29.11 million, respectively. Air transport movements decreased by 0.7% to 283,926. Cargo volume increased by 16.1% to 112,676 metric tonnes.
Compared with a year earlier, January to March 2019 passenger numbers increased by 4% to 9.675 million (an increase of 374,700 over January to March 2018). The following changes were recorded amongst individual passenger traffic categories: North Atlantic traffic +15.3% (784,200 passengers); European scheduled traffic +3.9% (5.649 million passengers); other long-haul
traffic +3.2% (1.277 million passengers); European charter
traffic +2.1% (710,900 passengers); Irish traffic +1.6% (412,000 passengers) and UK
traffic -0.2% (841,700 passengers). Air transport movements increased by 3.3% to 62,392. Cargo volume increased by 7.2% to 27,390 metric tonnes, which was driven by a 7.5% increase in overall long-haul passenger traffic. The growing popularity of the GatwickConnects flight connections assistance service provided by the airport for self-connecting passengers was driven by additional passengers changing flights at Gatwick whose journey originated in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
(+80%),
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
(+58%) and
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
(+50%).
Ground transport
![Gatwick North Terminal 121](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Gatwick_North_Terminal_121.JPG)
Gatwick has set goals of 40% public transport use by the time annual passenger traffic reaches 40 million (in 2015) and 45% by the time it reaches 45 million.
The airport is accessible from a motorway
spur road at junction 9A of the
M23, which links to the main M23 motorway east at junction 9. The M23 connects with London's
orbital motorway
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
, the
M25, north; this provides access to much of
Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
*Greater (song), "Greate ...
, the
South East
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and beyond, and the M23 is the main route for traffic to the airport. Gatwick is also accessible from the
A23, which serves
Horley
Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town.
It has its own eco ...
and
Redhill to the north and
Crawley
Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
and
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
to the south. The
A217 provides access northwards to the town of
Reigate
Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...
. The airport has long- and short-stay car parks at the airport and off-site, although these are often full in summer. Local restrictions limit parking at Gatwick.
Rail
![Gatwick Airport Station 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Gatwick_Airport_Station_02.JPG)
The airport railway station, which is next to the South Terminal, provides connections along the
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...
and Thameslink Core to
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
London Bridge
Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...
and
St Pancras stations in London and
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
,
Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...
,
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
,
Chichester
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
and
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns ...
to the south. Although the
Gatwick Express
Gatwick Express is a high-frequency rail passenger service between , Gatwick Airport, and in South East England. It is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Gatwick Express route of the Thameslink, ...
to Victoria is the best-known service from the station, other companies (including
Thameslink
Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...
and
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
) also use the station and Southern services Victoria and London Bridge under its own name. Thameslink provides direct trains to
Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...
; Great Western Railway trains directly link Gatwick Airport with
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
and
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
for onwards connections to
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
and
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
. Pedestrians may reach
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
by a
X26 Express bus from outside
East Croydon station
East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, Greater London, England, and is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of th ...
, an intermediate stop for rail service to London.
London
Oyster Cards
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
and
contactless cards have been accepted on all rail routes from Gatwick Airport into London since January 2016.
Bus
National Express Coaches
National Express is an intercity and Inter-regional coach operator providing services throughout Great Britain. It is a subsidiary of National Express Group. Most services are subcontracted to local coach companies. The company's head office is ...
operates coaches to
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
,
Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London.
London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...
and cities and towns throughout the region and country.
Oxford Bus Company
Oxford Bus Company is the trading name of The City of Oxford Motor Services Ltd. Company Number 91106 It is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.
History Horse trams ...
operates direct services to
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and
EasyBus
easyBus is part of the EasyGroup. It was founded by entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou in 2003. It initially also offered intercity services within the UK in addition to city to airport low-cost bus transfers.
History
easyGroup first announce ...
operates mini-coaches from both terminals to
Earls Court
Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
and
West Brompton
West Brompton is an area of south-west London, that straddles the boundary between the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The centuries-old boundary was traced by Counter's Creek, now lost b ...
.
Local buses connect the North and South Terminals with
Crawley
Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
, Horley, Redhill,
Horsham and
Caterham
Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...
. Services are offered by
Metrobus and
Fastway, a partly guided
bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
system which was the first of its kind to be built outside a major city.
Bicycle
Route 21 of the
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...
passes under South Terminal, allowing virtually traffic-free cycling and walking northwards to Horley and southwards to
Three Bridges and Crawley. A goods-style lift runs between the terminal and ground level (labelled "Lift to Cycle Route"), near Zone L.
Terminal transfer
![Gatwick Airport terminal shuttle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Gatwick_Airport_terminal_shuttle.jpg)
The airport's North and South Terminals are connected by a , elevated, two-way
automated people mover
A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
track. The transit shuttle normally consists of two automatic, three-car, driver-less trains. Although colloquially known as a "
monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...
", the shuttle instead runs on a dual, concrete track with rubber tyres.
The transit is ground-side, and besides linking the two terminals also serves to link the North terminal to the airport railway station.
The shuttle opened in 1987, along with the North Terminal, and initially used
Adtranz C-100
The Innovia APM 100 (formerly known as the CX-100) is an automated people mover (APM) rolling stock first developed by Westinghouse (later Adtranz, Bombardier Transportation, and now Alstom), intended mainly for airport connections and ligh ...
people-mover cars which remained in operation until September 2009, by which time they had travelled a total of 2.5 million miles (4 million km). Gatwick began upgrading its shuttle service in April 2008, with a bus replacement service in place from September 2009. A new operating system and shuttle cars (six
Bombardier CX-100 vehicles) was installed, and the guideway and transit stations were refurbished at a total cost of £45 million. The system re-opened on 1 July 2010, two months ahead of schedule; it featured live journey information and sensory technology to count the number of passengers at stations.
An earlier transit system, that opened in 1983 to link the main terminal (now the South Terminal) to the (then new) circular satellite pier, was the UK's first automated people-moving system. This system has since been replaced by a walkway-and-
moving walkway
A moving walkway, also known as an autowalk, moving pavement, moving sidewalk, people-mover, travolator, or travelator, is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane over a short to medium distan ...
link, although the remains of the elevated guideway are still visible.
Expansion proposals
Gatwick has been included in a number of reviews of airport capacity in southeastern England. Expansion options have included a third terminal and a second runway, although a 40-year agreement not to build a second runway was made in 1979 with
West Sussex County Council
West Sussex County Council (WSCC) is the authority that governs the non-metropolitan county of West Sussex. The county also contains seven district and borough councils, and 158 town, parish and neighbourhood councils. The county council has 7 ...
.
Expanded operations would allow Gatwick to handle more passengers than Heathrow does today, with a new terminal between two wide-spaced runways. This would complement or replace the South Terminal, depending on expected future traffic.
Airport management's proposal for a second runway (south of the existing runway and airport boundary) was unveiled in July 2013. This was shortlisted for further consideration by the
Airports Commission
The Airports Commission was an independent commission established in September 2012 by the Government of the United Kingdom to consider how the UK can "maintain its status as an international hub for aviation and immediate actions to improve th ...
in December 2013, and the commission's final report was published in July 2015.
Another proposal would extend the North Terminal south, with a passenger bridge in the area currently occupied by aircraft stands without
jet bridge
A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...
s.
Gatwick's draft master plan (released for consultation on 13 October 2011) apparently dropped the passenger-bridge plan in favour of a mid-field satellite (next to the control tower) linking to the North Terminal as part of an expanded 2030 single-runway, two-terminal airport.
In late 2011, the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
(DfT) also began a feasibility study for a high-speed rail link between Gatwick and Heathrow as part of a plan combining the airports into a "collective" or "virtual hub",
Heathwick
Heathwick is an informal name for a 2011 proposal to create a high-speed rail link between London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports, in effect to combine them into a single airport. Proponents argue this would balance their capacity and so reduce ...
. The scheme envisages a high-speed rail route parallel to the
M25, covering in 15 minutes. Trains would reach speeds of , and passengers would need to pass through immigration (or check in) only once. A 2018 proposal for a high-speed railway link to Heathrow,
HS4Air
HS4Air is a proposal for a high-speed railway line in the United Kingdom, put forward in 2018 by a British engineering consultancy, Expedition Engineering.
The proposed line would have connected the planned High Speed 2 line to the High Spee ...
, is currently being considered by the DfT. The proposal is part of a scheme to link the
High Speed 1
High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel.
It is part of a line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe; ...
and
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...
railway lines and connect regional cities in Britain to the
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
.
The DfT will respond to the HS4Air plans in the autumn of 2018.
On 1 July 2015, the Airports Commission submitted its final report, recommending the expansion of Heathrow Airport as opposed to Gatwick. Whilst the commission recognised Gatwick's benefits and relatively less environmental consequences than Heathrow, they felt the economic benefits of Gatwick vs. Heathrow were not as great, nor as broad-ranging. Gatwick disputed the findings.
On 9 September 2021, GAL opened its first public consultation to carry out major works at the runway to increase its capacity from 64 million passengers a year to 75 million passengers a year by moving the northern "emergency" runway to the North to meet international standards for dual runway use. Airport management plans to use this runway only for take-offs by all but the largest aircraft. It hoped to receive approval in 2024, with the main works taking 4 years to complete, and 13 years to be fully complete. Works would also involve a new pier, hotels, terminal expansion and highway improvements including flyovers of the M23 Spur / A23 Airport Way at the terminal roundabouts.
Accidents and incidents
* 15 September 1936 – A
British Airways Ltd
British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd (no relation to the US carrier United Airlines), and Hillman's A ...
de Havilland DH 86 on a night mail flight to Germany crashed on takeoff, killing the airline's chief pilot and two crew members.
* November 1936 – A
British Airways Ltd
British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd (no relation to the US carrier United Airlines), and Hillman's A ...
Fokker F 12 crashed in a wood south of Gatwick on its
final approach
In aeronautics, the final approach (also called the final leg and final approach leg) is the last leg in an aircraft's approach to landing, when the aircraft is lined up with the runway and descending for landing.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of ...
to the airport under a low
ceiling in poor visibility, killing both pilots and seriously injuring the
flight engineer.
* 17 February 1959 – A
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...
Vickers Viscount 794D (registration: TC-SEV) on an
international charter flight crashed in heavy fog at
Newdigate
Newdigate is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley borough of Surrey lying in a relatively flat part of the Weald to the east of the A24 road between Dorking and Horsham, ESE of Guildford and south of London. Neighbouring paris ...
, Surrey, on its approach to Gatwick after striking trees. Fourteen of the 24 on board died, and Turkish Prime Minister
Adnan Menderes was amongst the survivors.
* 5 January 1969 – A
Boeing 727-113C (registration: YA-FAR) operating flight 701 of
Ariana Afghan Airlines
Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. ( ps, د آريانا افغان هوايي شرکت; prs, هواپیمایی آریانا), also known simply as Ariana, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Afghanistan. Founded in 1955, Ariana is the olde ...
arriving from
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
, Germany,
crashed into a house in
Fernhill (near
Horley
Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town.
It has its own eco ...
, Surrey) in low visibility. The flaps were not extended to maintain flight at final-approach speed. Forty-eight of the 62 on board died, in addition to two on the ground.
* 28 January 1972 – A
British Caledonian
British Caledonian (BCal) was a British private independent airline which operated out of Gatwick Airport in south-east England during the 1970s and 1980s. It was created as an alternative to the British government-controlled corporation airlin ...
Vickers VC10-1109 (registration: G-ARTA) with no passengers aboard sustained severe structural damage as a result of a
hard landing
A hard landing occurs when an aircraft or spacecraft hits the ground with a greater vertical speed and force than in a normal landing.
Landing is the final phase in flight, in which the aircraft returns to the ground. The average vertical s ...
at Gatwick at the end of a short ferry flight from Heathrow, where the aircraft had been diverted due to fog at Gatwick. After touching down on runway 08 and applying
spoiler
Spoiler is a security vulnerability on modern computer central processing units that use speculative execution. It exploits side-effects of speculative execution to improve the efficiency of Rowhammer and other related memory and cache attacks. Ac ...
s and
reverse thrust
Thrust reversal, also called reverse thrust, is the temporary diversion of an aircraft engine's thrust for it to act against the forward travel of the aircraft, providing deceleration. Thrust reverser systems are featured on many jet aircraft to ...
, the aircraft became airborne again, bounced twice and landed heavily. This resulted in a burst front wheel tyre, a separated wheel and a crumpled fuselage (immediately in front of and behind the wings).
[''Classic Airliner'' (VC10 – The story of a classic jet airliner: Disposal of British Caledonian VC10s), p. 60, Key Publishing, Stamford, 2015] A survey of the aircraft's damage revealed that its
airframe was bent out of shape, requiring extensive repairs to be restored to
airworthiness
In aviation, airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft's suitability for safe flight. Initial airworthiness is demonstrated by a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft is register ...
. Since the repairs were not cost-effective, the airline's management decided to
cannibalise the aircraft for spare parts before scrapping it at Gatwick in 1975.
* 20 July 1975 – A
British Island Airways
British Island Airways (BIA) was the legal successor to British United Island Airways (BUIA). (BIA)
Handley Page Dart Herald 201 (registration: G-APWF) was involved in a runway accident while departing on a scheduled flight to Guernsey. The aircraft lifted off from runway 26 after a ground run of , and appeared airborne for (with its landing gear retracting), before the rear underside of the fuselage settled back onto the runway and brought the aircraft to a stop. An investigation concluded that the landing gear was retracted before the aircraft had become established in a climb and the flap setting and takeoff speed were incorrect. Although the aircraft incurred substantial damage, none of the 45 occupants were hurt.
* 29 December 2014 – A
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...
Boeing 747-400 (Registration: G-VROM) suffered a loss of hydraulic fluid whilst en route to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. Shortly after departure, an alarm prompted the crew to return to Gatwick, when they discovered that an improperly installed actuator had caused the right wing landing gear to not deploy. The aircraft successfully landed on 3 main landing-gear bogies and was returned to service on 11 January 2015.
*19–21 December 2018 –
Major disruption to the airport was caused by a
drone
Drone most commonly refers to:
* Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg
* Unmanned aerial vehicle
* Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft
* Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone
Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to:
...
flying near the runway, which was shut for about six hours on 19 December. The airport reopened at 03:01 the next morning until another sighting forced it to close again about 45 minutes later. As of 00:15 on 21 December, the airport was still closed with about 110,000 passengers and 760 flights affected. Officials called the drone flying a "deliberate act of disruption", but did not classify it as terrorism.
The army were deployed to assist police to resolve the incident.
The runway reopened with limited capacity around 06:00 that day. Authorities suspended flights again from 17:10 to 18:23 on 21 December. Later that day a man and a woman were arrested in connection with the incident; the pair were released without charge on 23 December with Sussex Police saying that they "are no longer suspects".
*26 February 2020 – a
Titan Airways
Titan Airways is a British charter airline founded in 1988 and based at London Stansted Airport. The carrier specialises in short-notice ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) and wet lease operations as well as ad-hoc passenger and ...
Airbus A321-211 suffered an engine fire immediately after takeoff. Shortly after the other engine surged and stalled. The aircraft landed safely at Gatwick eleven minutes after takeoff. The
Air Accidents Investigation Branch
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA ...
determined fuel
contamination
Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc.
Types of contamination
W ...
following defective maintenance had gone undetected for two days and caused the incident. Safety recommendations were made to the
European Union Aviation Safety Agency
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...
, and changes made by organisations including
Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
and the
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...
.
See also
*
Airports of London
The metropolitan area of London, England, United Kingdom, is served by six international airports and several smaller airports. Together, these airports constitute the busiest airport system in the world by passenger numbers and the second-bu ...
*
*
List of busiest airports by passenger traffic
The world's busiest airports by passenger traffic are measured by total passengers (data from Airports Council International), defined as passengers enplaned plus passengers deplaned plus direct-transit passengers. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta In ...
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List of the busiest airports in Europe
This is a list of the 100 busiest airports in Europe, ranked by total passengers per year, including both terminal and transit passengers. Data is for 2021 and is sourced individually for each airport and from a variety of sources, normally the n ...
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
* Gwynne, Peter. (1990) ''A History of Crawley'' (2nd Edition) Philmore.
* King, John, with Tait, Geoff, (1980) ''Golden Gatwick – 50 Years of Aviation'', British Airports Authority.
* King, John, (1986) ''Gatwick – The Evolution of an Airport'', Gatwick Airport Ltd. and Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society.
* Bain, Gordon, (1994), ''Gatwick Airport'', Airlife Publishing Ltd.
* Tait, Geoffrey, (1984), ''The Gatwick Express'', G. Tait & Associates Ltd.
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* Wood, Alan. "Hoping for a Junkers: More Recollections on Prewar Airline Exploits From a Fledgling Gatwick Airport". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 83, September–October 1999, pp. 52–57.
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatwick
Airports established in 1933
Airports in the London region
Airports in West Sussex
Buildings and structures in Crawley
Organisations based in Crawley
Royal Air Force stations in West Sussex
Transport in Crawley
Transport in West Sussex
1933 establishments in England