London Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport (IATA: LGW, ICAO: EGKK) is London's second largest airport and the second busiest airport in the United Kingdom after Heathrow. It is the world's 25th busiest airport in terms of passengers per year (7th in terms of international passengers).^[2] It is also often quoted as the world's busiest single runway airport, although strictly speaking it now has a second 'stand-by' runway, which can be used only when the main runway is out of use.

Gatwick is located in Crawley, West Sussex (originally Charlwood, Surrey) and is 45km (28 miles) south of Central London.

Gatwick is owned and operated by BAA, which also owns and operates six other UK airports,^[3] including Heathrow, and is itself owned by an international consortium led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group.^[4]

With about 200 destinations the airport handled over 34 million passengers with 263,363 aircraft movements^[1] in 2006. It was confirmed that during 2007 Gatwick passed the 35 million mark for the first time in its history.^[5]

In 2008 Gatwick celebrates 50 years of operations - Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the airport on 9 June 1958.^[6]

Charter airlines generally do not operate from Heathrow and therefore use Gatwick as their main base for London and the South East.

For the past 30 years many flights to and from the USA have also used Gatwick because of the restrictions on access to Heathrow that were enshrined in the 1977 Bermuda II bilateral air services agreement between the UK and the US.

The airport is a major operational base for British Airways, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic. The airport is also a major base for a number of charter airlines including First Choice Airways, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways.

London Gatwick has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P528) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

On 17 September 2008, BAA announced that they are selling Gatwick Airport, following a report by the Competition Commission into BAA's market dominance, especially in London and the South East. The process of selling Gatwick will begin immediately; the airport has been valued at £1.8 billion by regulators.^[7] Potential bidders for Gatwick include Australia's Macquarie Group, German transport company Fraport and Manchester Airports Group, the largest UK-owned airport group.

History

The name "Gatwick" dates back to 1241, and was the name of a manor on the site of today's airport until the 19th century. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words gāt, 'goat', and wīc, 'dairy farm', i.e. 'goat farm'.

The airport at sunset with the control tower visible

South Terminal international arrivals hall

In 1891 a racecourse was created at Gatwick beside the London-Brighton railway, and a railway station was built which included sidings for horse boxes. The course was popular and held both steeplechase and flat races. During the First World War the course hosted the Grand National.

1920-1945

In the 1920s land adjacent to the racecourse at Hunts Green Farm along Tinsley Green Lane was used as an aerodrome and licensed in August 1930. The Surrey Aero Club was formed in 1930 and used the old Hunts Green farmhouse as the first club house.

The Redwing Aircraft Company bought the aerodrome in 1932 and operated a flying school. The aerodrome was also used for pilots flying in to watch the races. In 1933, the aerodrome was sold to an investor who had designs to run it as an airport. The Air Ministry approved commercial flights from Gatwick the following year, and by 1936, scheduled flights were operating to several destinations on the Continent. A circular terminal called "The Beehive", designed by Frank Hoar, was built together with a subway connecting it to Gatwick racecourse railway station so that passengers could travel from London Victoria Station to the aircraft without stepping into the elements. Two fatal accidents in 1936 questioned the safety of the airport. Moreover, it was prone to fog and waterlogging. The new subway regularly flooded after heavy rain. As a consequence of these conditions and the need for longer landing strips British Airways Ltd moved out to Croydon Airport in 1937. Gatwick changed back to private flying and was contracted as a Royal Air Force flying training school. The airport also attracted aircraft repair companies.

Gatwick Airport was requisitioned by the RAF in September 1939 and used for aircraft maintenance. Although night-fighters, an army co-operation squadron and later fighters were based at Gatwick, it was mainly used as a repair and maintenance facility.

1945-1970

After the war aircraft maintenance continued, and charter companies flying war-surplus aircraft started to use the airport. Most of the services were cargo flights, although the airport suffered from bad drainage and was little used. In November 1948 the airport owners warned that the airport could be de-requisitioned by November 1949 and revert back to private use.

Stansted Airport was favoured as London's second airport and Gatwick's future was in doubt. Despite opposition from local authorities, in 1950 the Cabinet decided that Gatwick was to be designated as an alternative to Heathrow. The government announced in July 1952 that the airport was to be developed, and the airport was closed for an extensive (£7.8 million) renovation between 1956 and 1958. The redevelopment of the airport at this time was carried out by Alfred McAlpine.^[8] On 9 June 1958 Queen Elizabeth II flew into the new airport in a De Havilland Heron to perform the opening.

The main pier of what is now the South Terminal was built during the 1956-58 construction of Gatwick. In 1962, two additional piers were added.

The new Gatwick was the world's first airport with a direct railway link, and was one of the first to use a fully enclosed pier-based terminal design which allowed passengers to walk under cover to waiting areas very close to their aircraft with only a short walking distance outdoors. Full extendible jetbridge access was added when the piers were rebuilt and extended in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

British European Airways started flying from Gatwick and BEA Helicopters opened a base at the airport. British West Indian Airways (BWIA) and Sudan Airways were among the first overseas-based airlines to serve Gatwick on a regular, scheduled basis.

From the late 1950s a growing number of Britain's privately owned airlines began to establish themselves at Gatwick. The first of these was Morton Air Services, which had shifted its entire operation to the airport when its previous base at Croydon closed. It was soon followed by Airwork, Hunting-Clan and Transair. In July 1960 these airlines merged to form British United Airways (BUA). Throughout the 1960s BUA was Britain's largest Independent airline. During that decade it became Gatwick's largest resident airline. By the end of the decade it also became the airport's leading scheduled operator, with a 71,000 km (43,217 miles) network of short-, medium and long-haul routes stretching across three continents, i.e. Europe, Africa and South America. These routes were served with contemporary, state-of-the-art BAC One-Eleven and Vickers VC-10 jet aircraft.^[9]

1970 to date

In late November 1970 BUA was acquired by the Scottish charter airline Caledonian Airways. The newly created airline was known as Caledonian/BUA before adopting the British Caledonian name in September 1971. BUA's takeover by Caledonian enabled the latter to transform itself into a major scheduled airline. In addition to the scheduled routes it had inherited from BUA, it launched additional scheduled services to a number of destinations in Europe, North and West Africa, North America as well as the Middle and Far East during the 1970s and '80s. This included the first scheduled service operated by a wholly privately owned UK airline since the 1930s between London and Paris, launched in November 1971, as well as the first-ever transatlantic scheduled services operated by a private UK airline to New York and Los Angeles, launched in April 1973. It also included the launch of the UK's first-ever privately operated scheduled air service to Hong Kong (via Dubai) in August 1980.^[10][11]

In November 1972 Laker Airways became the first operator of widebody aircraft at Gatwick, following the introduction of two McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 10 series widebodied trijets into its fleet.^[12] Laker's DC-10 fleet expanded throughout the 1970s and early '80s with the introduction of a number of longer range series 30 aircraft. This enabled the launch of Gatwick's first daily long-haul, low fare no frills flights between the airport and New York JFK on 1 September 1977.^[13]

British Caledonian was also a major, Gatwick-based operator of the DC-10-30 widebody, having introduced its first pair in March and May 1977, respectively.^[14] The airline eventually operated a small fleet of Boeing 747-200s as well, having acquired its first jumbo jet in 1982.^[15]

A number of other independent airlines including Dan-Air and Air Europe played an important role in the development of the airport and its scheduled route network during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

Passenger bridge at Gatwick's North Terminal

As passenger numbers grew, a circular satellite pier was added to the terminal building in 1983, connected to the main terminal by the UK's first automated people mover system (now replaced with a walkway and travelators). The new air traffic control tower was officially opened in 1984; also the same year, the new non-stop Gatwick Express railway service to London Victoria was launched. There was still a need for more capacity at Gatwick and so a second terminal was planned. Construction began on the North Terminal in 1983; it was the largest construction project south of London to have taken place in the 1980s and cost £200 million. The terminal was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 and was further expanded in 1991 with the opening of a second aircraft pier. In 1994, the new North Terminal international departure lounge opened. Gatwick's two terminals are connected by an automated rapid track transit system. A major extension to the North Terminal departure lounge was completed in 2001, and in 2005 a new £110 million additional aircraft pier (Pier 6) opened, adding an extra 11 pier-served aircraft stands. Linked by the world's largest air passenger bridge to the main terminal building, it spans a live aircraft taxiway, giving arriving and departing passengers at Gatwick views of the airport and taxiing aircraft.

In 2000, a major extension to the South Terminal departure lounge was completed, and in 2005 an extension and refurbishment was also completed to the baggage reclaim hall, doubling it in size. In May 2008, another extension was completed to the South Terminal departure lounge; in addition a new second floor security search area opened to increase capacity. In recent years the South Terminal has been used by low-cost airlines, and many of the former users have moved to the newer North Terminal.

Incidents and accidents

• 17 February 1959 - a Turkish Airlines Vickers Viscount on an international charter flight crashed in heavy fog near Horley whilst approaching to land at Gatwick. The plane hit some trees. Fourteen of 24 on board died. On board at the time was then-Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who was amongst the survivors.[1]

• 5 January 1969 - a Boeing 727-113C operating flight 701 of Ariana Afghan Airlines arriving at Gatwick from Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport, Germany, crashed into a house while attempting to land in low visibility conditions. The flaps were not extended sufficiently to maintain flight at final approach speed. Fifty of the 66 people on board died as well as two on the ground.[2]

• 20 July 1975 – a British Island Airways (BIA) Handley Page Dart Herald was involved in a runway accident while departing London Gatwick on a scheduled flight to Guernsey. The aircraft lifted off from runway 26 after a ground run of about 760 m and appeared to be airborne for a further 125 m with its landing gear retracting, before the rear underside of the fuselage settled back on to the runway. None of the 45 occupants were hurt.^[16]

Gatwick today

Facilities

Gatwick Airport has two terminals, called North and South.

Both terminals at Gatwick offer facilities for travellers, including shops and restaurants both landside and airside. Disabled passengers can travel easily through the airport with all areas being fully accessible. There are facilities for baby changing and feeding, and play areas and video games to keep children amused.

Business travellers are offered executive lounges offering peace and quiet and business facilities. There is also a conference and business centre with meeting facilities and business services. Business Travellers are also offered Fast Track which enables a faster car park to airport to check-in and then to flight service.

The airport and area has hotels of differing grades from executive accommodation to a capsule hotel.

The airport has Anglican, Catholic and Free Church Chaplains. There is a multi-faith prayer room and counselling room in each terminal. A daily service is led by one of the chaplains. The prayer room is open to all faiths for prayer and devotion by all passengers.

British Airways Boeing 737 aircraft parked up at the North Terminal's Pier 5. BA is Gatwick's second largest airline

Major airlines

As of late 2007, British Airways and easyJet are Gatwick's two dominant resident airlines, accounting for 25% and 17% of its slots, respectively. The latter's share of Gatwick slots rose to 24%, as a result of its takeover of British Airways franchise carrier GB Airways, which accounted for 7% of the airport's slots during the aforementioned period. The acquisition of GB Airways in March 2008 also resulted in easyJet becoming Gatwick's biggest short-haul operator, accounting for 29% of all short-haul passengers (ahead of BA's 23%)^[17] and Gatwick's largest airline overall, with flights to 62 domestic and European destinations (at April 2008)^[18]. Gatwick is also the airline's largest base. Since then however, airlines have started down-sizing transatlantic operations from Gatwick, primarily due to the new EU-US Open Skies agreement. Continental Airlines are another airline that has down-sized from Gatwick, and has left only the seasonal flight to Cleveland at Gatwick, whilst promoting advanced services and more operations at Heathrow and Manchester.^[19]

Operations

Gatwick is usually regarded as a single runway airport, but strictly speaking it has two runways. The northern runway (08L/26R) can only be used when the main runway (08R/26L) is out of use, for example because of maintenance or an accident. The runways cannot be used at the same time because there is insufficient separation between them, and during normal operation the northern runway is used as a taxiway. It can take up to 15 minutes to change over from one runway to the other.

The northern runway does not have an Instrument Landing System and, when it is in use, aircraft need to use a combination of Distance Measuring Equipment, Non-directional beacons, and assistance from the airport approach controller using a surveillance radar.

Considerable use is made of continuous descent approach techniques to minimise the environmental effects of incoming aircraft, particularly at night.^[20]

Night-time flights at Gatwick are subject to restrictions.^[21] Between 11.00pm and 7.00am (the night period) the noisiest aircraft (rated QC/8 and QC/16) may not operate at all. In addition, between 11.30pm and 6.00am (the night quota period) there are three limits:

• An overall limit on the number of flights allowed;
• A Quota Count system which limits the total amount of noise permitted, but allows operators to choose to operate fewer noisy aircraft or a greater number of quieter planes;^[22]
• QC/4 aircraft may not operate at night.

Security

The airport is policed by a unit of Sussex Police. The unit has jurisdiction over the whole airport, including any aircraft within its boundaries, and in certain circumstances, aircraft which are in flight. There are 150 officers in this unit including armed officers, unarmed officers, and community support officers who deal with minor offences.

The airport has a sub-unit which protects against man-portable surface-to-air missiles (MANPADS) by patrolling the area in and around the airport. A separate sub-unit has also set up vehicle check points around the airport.^[23]

Transport

Gatwick Airport has set itself the objective that 40% of its passengers should be using public transport by the time the airport's annual throughput reaches 40 million (currently estimated in 2015), up from the 2006 figure of 35.3%.[3]

Road

The airport is accessed by a dedicated motorway spur road at junction 9A of the M23, which links to the main M23 motorway 1 mile (1.5km) east at junction 9. The M23 connects with London's orbital motorway; the M25, 9 miles (14 km) north, giving access to Greater London and the South East. The M23 is the main route used by traffic to reach the airport. Gatwick is also accessed locally by the A23, which serves Horley and Redhill to the north and Crawley and Brighton to the south; the A217 also provides road access northwards to the local town of Reigate.

The airport has long and short stay car parks, both at the airport and off-site, although these are often full to capacity in the summer months. Local planning restrictions have limited the supply of car-parking facilities at and around Gatwick.

Rail

Gatwick Airport railway station

The Gatwick Airport railway station is located next to the South Terminal and provides connections along the Brighton Main Line to London Victoria and London Bridge stations, as well as Brighton and Worthing to the south. The Gatwick Express service to Victoria is the best-known rail service from the station, but several other companies, including Southern, First Capital Connect, CrossCountry and First Great Western, use the station as well. First Capital Connect provide direct trains to Luton Airport, and Southern run direct services between Watford Junction and Brighton.

Foot passengers with modest luggage can reach Heathrow Airport by catching a X26 Express Bus from the bus stops outside East Croydon station.

Bus and coach

National Express Coaches operates coach services from Gatwick to both Heathrow Airport and Stansted Airport, as well as smaller cities and towns throughout the region. Sister company National Express Dot2Dot operates a demand responsive minibus service to any location in a defined area of central London. The Oxford Bus Company operate direct services to Oxford as the airline. easyBus operates minicoaches from Gatwick to London Victoria.

A network of direct local bus services connect the North and South terminals with Crawley, Horley, Redhill, Horsham and other local destinations. Services are offered by Metrobus and Fastway; a guided bus rapid transit system which was the first of its kind to be constructed outside a major city.

There are at least two sets of stairs which foot-passengers can use to leave the South Terminal and get to ground-level (near the cycle route) from the vicinity of Zone L and the train-station area (steps are labelled Exit Q and Exit P on the ground). These allow access to bus stops for local services.

Cycle

Route 21 of the National Cycle Network passes under the South Terminal, allowing virtually traffic-free cycling northwards to Horley and southwards to Three Bridges and Crawley. A goods-style lift runs between the terminal and ground level (signed "Lift to Cycle Route"), near Zone L.

Terminal transfer

Gatwick Airport Transit
North Terminal South Terminal Gatwick Airport

The North and South terminals are connected by a transit system consisting of three-car automatic driverless vehicles that run along a ¾ mile long elevated two-way track. The transit is free to use with a travel time of about 2 minutes. It runs every three minutes in peak travel periods (when two vehicles are used), and every six minutes at all other times (when one vehicle shuttles back and forth).

Development

In 1979 an agreement was reached with the local council not to expand further before 2019, but recent proposals to build a second runway suitable for large jets at Gatwick led to protests about increased noise and pollution and demolition of houses and villages.^[24] The government has now decided to expand Stansted and Heathrow but not Gatwick. Gatwick's owners BAA have published a new consultation which includes a possible second runway south of the airport, but leaves the villages of Charlwood and Hookwood intact, north of the airport.

BAA had plans for an £874 million investment at Gatwick over the next five years, including increased terminal capacity for both terminals; improvements to the airport's transport interchange and also a new baggage system for the South Terminal.^[25]

However as a result of an inquest by The Competition Commission which examined claims that BAA had a monopoly on London Airports it was announced on 17 September 2008 that the airport would be sold ^[26]

Airlines and destinations

North Terminal

The main users of the North Terminal are British Airways and charter airlines First Choice Airways and Thomsonfly, as well as a small presence of other oneworld alliance members and those belonging to SkyTeam. In March 2008, easyJet split its operation between Gatwick's two terminals, with many routes taken over from GB Airways now departing from the North Terminal.

Various aircraft from British Airways and Thomsonfly at the North Terminal's Pier 4

Gate area inside the North Terminal, showing flight information screens

South Terminal

The South Terminal is Gatwick's older and busier terminal, and is also where the airport railway station is located. The main users of the South Terminal are easyJet, Virgin Atlantic and charter carriers Monarch Airlines and Thomas Cook Airlines. However, many other airlines either operate from or are based at the South Terminal.

Notes

References

• United Kingdom AIP
• Gwynne, Peter. (1990) A History of Crawley (2nd Edition) Philmore. ISBN 0-85033-718-6
• 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. ISBN 0-9512036-0-6
• Bain, Gordon, (1994), Gatwick Airport, Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-468-x
• Eglin, Roger, and Ritchie, Berry (1980). Fly me, I'm Freddie. London, UK: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-2977-7746-7. 
• Thomson, Adam (1999). High Risk: The Politics of the Air. London, UK: Sidgwick and Jackson. ISBN 0-2839-9599-8. 
• Simons, Graham M. (1993). The Spirit of Dan-Air. Peterborough, UK: GMS Enterprises. ISBN 1-8703-8420-2. 
• Simons, Graham M. (1999). It was nice to fly with friends! The story of Air Europe. Peterborough, UK: GMS Enterprises. ISBN 1-8703-8469-5. 
• Branson, Richard (2006 [2nd reprint]). Losing my Virginity - The Autobiography. London, UK: Virgin Books Ltd. ISBN 0-7535-1020-0. 
• Financial Times, 26 October 2007. London, UK: UK Edition. 

External links

• Official website
• Gatwick Airport Consultative Committee
• Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on proposed British Airways takeover of British Caledonian