Gatwick Airport
About Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is London’s 2nd busiest airport by passenger number. It opened in the late 1920s as an aerodrome. Consists of a single-runway airport with a length of 10,879 ft. This airport takes millions of passengers to around 230 destinations in 70 countries, handling more than 30 million passengers annually. It is a hub for scheduled airlines of British Airways, EasyJet, Norwegian Air, Wizz Air, TUI Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. EasyJet, BA, and Norwegian are Gatwick’s three biggest resident airlines as these three airlines respectively account for 43.3%, 19%, and 10.5% of airport slots. EasyJet, BA, and Norwegian collectively accounted for 65.43% of Gatwick’s total passengers in 2016 by;
- EasyJet: 40.37% / 17.4 million.
- BA: 14.39% / 6.2 million.
- Norwegian: 10.67% / 4.6 million.
Norwegian is Gatwick’s number one transatlantic airline by seat capacity, then comes BA whereas Virgin’s on the third position among the airport’s transatlantic airlines during the 2018 summer timetable period. In 2018, 46.1 million passengers passed through Gatwick whereas from January to March of 2019 passenger numbers increased by 4% to 9.675 million.
Location
Gatwick Airport is located near Crawley, West Sussex, and England, This airport is 29.5 miles to the south of Central London. It serves the southeast of the United Kingdom. Gatwick covers a total area of 674 hectares.
Know Your Gatwick Airport Terminals
Gatwick Airport has undergone extensive renovations. It is the world’s busiest single-runway airport. There are plans to add a second runway. Gatwick Airport consists of two terminals i.e. North Terminal and South Terminal that are connected by a 1.21-km two-way automated people mover system. The North Terminals cover an area of 98,000 m2 whereas the South Terminal covers an area of 160,000 m2. Gatwick Airport uses unique emerald flight arrivals door mode, which enables flight arrival gates in both the North and South Terminal to intelligently route domestic and international passengers accordingly.
Gatwick allows the airlines to swamp terminals to improve the airport’s operational efficiency and resilience. EasyJet consolidates all its operations in the North Terminal, while British Airways and Virgin Atlantic often swap their terminals to free up lounge and gate space for BA long-haul passengers in the South Terminal. The use of different terminals by British Airways reduces pressure on the North Terminal’s check-in, security, boarding, and ramp areas at peak times. Because of these arrangements, Virgin’s long-haul scheduled flights run smoothly without clashing with EasyJet’s scheduled flights in the North Terminal as both airlines have different peak times.
South Terminal
Gatwick’s new air terminal i.e. South Terminal is an enclosed pier-based terminal that was opened on 9th June 1958 with 11 aircraft stands. It consists of a modular design, permitting subsequent, phased expansion. This terminal made Gatwick one of the world’s first airports with an enclosed pier-based terminal that allows its passengers to walk under waiting areas near the aircraft. This air terminal added a circular satellite pier to its building as passenger numbers grew. This satellite connects to the main terminal by the UK’s first automated people mover system. In the time it was subsequently replaced with a walkway and travelators.
North Terminal
North Terminal’s construction begins in May 1970 on the land that was reserved to build a second runway. This was South London’s big construction project in the 1980s that cost £200 million. It only had one aircraft pier for the time, then a second pier was added in 19191. However, it was officially opened with 11 pier-served aircraft stands on 16th May 2005 for a cost of £110 million. The pier is connected to North Terminal’s main building by an air passenger bridge known to be the largest in the world. It provides passengers a view of the airport and taxiing aircraft.
Gatwick Assistance
Gatwick is determined to create a great experience for everyone who travels through their airport, regardless of their circumstances. Their services aim to assist all passengers on their journey through Gatwick. Gatwick’s opened Vroom lounges for the leisure of long-haul passengers. The north terminal of this airport has lounges together with the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. Gatwick opened an independent pay-for-access lounge on 9th April 2009 in the South Terminal. You can also enjoy the company of business centers. The airport has Free Church chaplains where a daily service is led, multi-faith prayer, and counseling rooms in each terminal. You can sign-up with your email address to receive updates on the Gatwick Airport Station upgrade and information on projects taking place across the Southern region.
Gatwick is delivering a vital upgrade. An investment of £874 million is made to increase the capacity for both terminals, and to improve transport interchange and a new baggage system for the South Terminal. Investments money is also being used to widen Platforms 5 and 6. This is done to ease the crowding of trains headed to London. The Station concourse is also doubled in size so that more connections are available to the terminals. Passengers are informed about the redevelopment program with large mobile barcodes on top of construction hoardings.
Gatwick introduced a Hidden Disability Lanyard to increase their support for passengers with autism, dementia, and other hidden disabilities. The lanyard is used to give a discreet signal that passengers may require additional assistance when traveling. It is voluntary and can be collected free of charge from any of Gatwick’s assistance desks.
Traveling to and from Gatwick
You can travel to and from Gatwick Airport without much hassle. Using the rail route proves to be a good idea as the rail route is connected all over Britain, The rails link passengers to 120 train stations directly. The biggest advantage of using a rail route is that you can go straight to the south terminal as the railway station is located at the South Terminal. It is easily accessible to North Terminal through a free shuttle. There are frequent trains between Gatwick and London. Gatwick Express is one of the best. You’re offered a non-stop rail service between the airport and Victoria in central London. It runs every 15 minutes. You can buy tickets at the station or the rail information desks located at both terminals.
Gatwick Chauffeur Service
1. London Heathrow Taxi
London Heathrow taxi (LHT) is a taxi company that is dedicated to providing the best Heathrow taxi service to its esteemed customers at a reasonable price with the vision to branch out its reformed services in the United Kingdom. Their quality services suit the client’s budget such as Heathrow taxi, Mitcham taxi, Gatwick taxi cheap, and Gatwick minicabs, etc. They stand out from the lot because of their safety and reliability factor, and strict adherence to the traffic principles by the trained drivers. They are operational every time, to cater traveling needs of their clients, even on special occasions or public holidays.
2. Chelsea chauffeurs London
Chelsea Chauffeurs is one of the top chauffeur companies in London that is committed to the mission of providing an excellent chauffeur-driven service to its esteemed customers. CCL London chauffeurs cover a full range of services across London especially Gatwick chauffeur service, & Luton airport chauffeur service. It has announced to extend its reformed services throughout the UK within the next couple of years.
Chelsea Chauffeurs claims to have experienced and professional chauffeurs with a proven technical background and a sound knowledge of all the city areas and traffic rules. CCL gives pocket-friendly and super-friendly fixed rates to its clients. Their specialty lies in Meet & Greet services to provide the clients with a smooth-running trip and to give a safe, and luxurious experience.
Hotels near Gatwick
There are several on- and off-site hotels ranging in class from executive to economy near Gatwick airport. These include;
Hampton by Hilton London Gatwick Airport
This Hotel holds a good reputation. It is directly connected to the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport through a covered walkway. You can even take the free transit to your reach destination. By using the train ride you can get to central London in 30-minute. It is clean and has got comfortable rooms with comfy beds, a clean bathroom, and accessible WiFi. The staff is at your disposal, very accommodating and helpful. Their package includes excellent breakfast foods and dinner.
Sofitel London Gatwick Hotel
Sofitel London Gatwick Hotel gives you a luxury experience like no other offering you the perfect blend of style and convenience. It is directly connected to the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport. This hotel offers its guests a dedicated gym, a range of international dishes at its restaurant, easy access to airport terminals, and spacious en suite rooms with custom-made furniture, authentic woodwork, and the finest wool, and silk fabric wall paneling that creates a sophisticated environment. They have impressive guest accommodation that is the epitome of personalized service. We do not doubt that you’ll enjoy your CCL Gatwick chauffeurs along with staying here.