Gatwick Airport

London Gatwick Airport is one of several international airports serving Greater London and southern England. It is located near Crawley, in West Sussex, about 30 miles south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwick was the second-busiest airport in the UK by total passenger traffic, after Heathrow.

Gatwick opened as an aerodrome in the late 1920s and has been used for commercial flights since 1933. The airport has two terminals: the North Terminal and the South Terminal. It operates as a single-runway airport, with a main runway that is 3,316 metres long. A secondary runway is available but can only be used when the main runway is not in use.

It is the secondary London hub for British Airways and the largest operating base for the low-cost carrier easyJet.

History

The land where Gatwick Airport now stands was first used for airplanes in the late 1920s. Commercial flights began in 1933, and the first terminal, called "The Beehive," opened in 1935. During World War II, the airport was used by the military. After the war, it became a civilian airport again. The current airport buildings were constructed in the mid-1950s and opened in 1956.

A Douglas DC-6 in front of the then-new terminal at Gatwick Airport in 1964

In the 1960s, two big airlines, British United Airways and Dan-Air, operated at Gatwick. Later, British Caledonian became the main airline there during the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, British Airways grew to become the biggest airline at Gatwick. Today, easyJet has become the main airline at the airport.

From 1978 to 2008, many flights to the United States landed at Gatwick due to rules that limited flights from Heathrow. After 2008, most of these flights moved to Heathrow. The last U.S. airline to serve Gatwick was US Airways, which stopped in 2013. JetBlue began flying to Gatwick from New York and Boston in 2021.

In 2009, a group led by Global Infrastructure Partners bought Gatwick Airport. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport had to cut jobs due to fewer travelers.

Corporate affairs

Gatwick Airport was owned and run by BAA Limited from April 1, 1966, until December 2, 2009. Now, it is owned and operated by Gatwick Airport Limited, which is part of Ivy Holdco Limited. This company is owned by Global Infrastructure Partners. In 2018, Vinci announced plans to buy a majority stake, which was completed by mid-2019.

In September 2023, Margaret Ford, Baroness Ford was named the new Chair of Gatwick Airport.

Operations

Facilities

Gatwick Airport has special rooms for travelers. In 2008, a room called the V Room opened for travelers flying far away with Virgin Holidays. In 2017, this room moved to the North Terminal. There are also rooms for meetings and hotels near the airport.

The airport has rooms for people of different faiths to pray, with daily services led by chaplains.

There is an office for the Civil Aviation Authority, and a big building called Schlumberger House where WesternGeco has its main offices for Europe, Africa, and Russia.

Plans were made to improve Gatwick over five years, including making both terminals bigger.

In 2013, Gatwick started a free service called Gatwick Connect to help travelers switch between flights. In 2015, this service was renamed GatwickConnects.

Flight movements

The airport control tower opened in 1984.

Gatwick has two runways but mainly uses one. The northern runway is only used when the main runway cannot be used. The main runway is long enough for big planes. Nearly three-quarters of takeoffs are towards the west.

In 2018, Gatwick looked at ways to use its runways better. In 2023, plans were announced to expand the second runway.

The main runway has special equipment to help planes land safely in bad weather. The northern runway does not have this equipment.

Flights are not allowed between 11 pm and 7 am if they are very noisy. Between 11:30 pm and 6 am, there are limits on how many flights can take off and land.

The bridge connecting the North Terminal to its apron pier

Security

The airport is kept safe by Sussex Police. There are officers who carry guns and others who do not, as well as community support officers.

Access to secure parts of the airport is controlled by security officers.

Major airlines

Interior of the North Terminal apron pier bridge

Gatwick is a home base for several airlines, including British Airways, easyJet, and Wizz Air. It has full-service, low-cost, and charter airlines.

EasyJet is the biggest airline at Gatwick, with many flights and planes. British Airways and Norwegian Air Shuttle were also big, but Norwegian stopped flying from Gatwick in 2020.

EasyJet bought some slots from other airlines, becoming the biggest short-haul airline at Gatwick. British Airways later started a new budget airline called BA EuroFlyer.

City Place Gatwick

Gatwick’s original terminal, called the Beehive, is part of the City Place Gatwick office complex. Many airlines used to have offices there.

Gatwick Aviation Museum

Near the airport is a museum with old items and photographs from Gatwick’s history, as well as military airplanes. The museum is open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Terminals

South Terminal main entrance

The airport has two terminals, South and North, with 65 gates in total. Both terminals have shops and restaurants for passengers before and after security checks. All areas are accessible for disabled passengers, and there are facilities for babies.

The South Terminal has 32 gates with jetbridges for planes. The North Terminal opened in 1988 and has 31 gates, including some that can handle very large aircraft. The two terminals are connected by a special moving walkway before security, but not after.

Airlines and destinations

Gatwick Airport passenger destinations

Gatwick Airport has many airlines that fly regular trips for passengers from the airport.

Statistics

Gatwick Airport handled over 40 million passengers a year by 2015. By 2016, EasyJet was more than 40% of all passengers there. Globally, Gatwick is the 35th busiest airport and the eighth busiest airport in Europe. It is known for being the world's leading low-cost airport.

In 2018, more than 46 million passengers used Gatwick. There were more passengers flying to and from North Atlantic and other faraway places, while some closer flights had fewer passengers. The number of flights went down a little, but the amount of goods carried went up.

Busiest international routes from Gatwick (2025)
Rank	Destination	Passengers	Change 2024 / 25
1	Malaga, Spain	1,239,808	3.5%
2	Barcelona, Spain	1,227,092	9.2%
3	Dublin, Republic of Ireland	1,000,460	5.0%
4	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	963,164	4.1%
5	Alicante, Spain	854,016	8.4%
6	Rome-Fiumicino, Italy	822,305	11.4%
7	Faro, Portugal	810,451	5.0%
8	Milan-Malpensa, Italy	751,460	3.5%
9	Geneva, Switzerland	728,821	4.6%
10	Palma de Mallorca, Spain	683,890	5.8%
11	Tenerife-South, Spain	674,903	7.4%
12	Antalya, Turkey	636,519	14.0%
13	Madrid, Spain	608,470	4.4%
14	Marrakesh, Morocco	590,787	2.5%
15	Istanbul, Turkey	586,961	0.1%
16	Amsterdam, Netherlands	537,782	26.3%
17	Malta, Malta	526,285	6.2%
18	Copenhagen, Denmark	517,825	12.8%
19	Shanghai, China	510,189	21.8%
20	Nice, France	501,850	3.7%
Source: CAA Statistics

Busiest domestic routes from Gatwick (2024)
Rank	Destination	Passengers	Change 2023 / 24
1	Edinburgh	476,152	3.64%
2	Glasgow	455,095	2.37%
3	Belfast-Intl	444,142	8.33%
4	Jersey	381,611	11.31%
5	Belfast-City	277,800	18.98%
6	Guernsey	254,601	17.22%
7	Inverness	222,417	0.25%
8	Aberdeen	196,469	0.80%
9	Isle of Man	165,643	3.32%
10	Newquay	83,252	0.83%
Source: CAA Statistics

Year	Number of passengers	Percentage change	Number of aircraft movements	Freight (tonnes)
2000	32,068,540	–	260,859	318,905
2001	31,181,770	02.8%	252,543	280,098
2002	29,627,420	05.0%	242,379	242,519
2003	30,005,260	01.3%	242,731	222,916
2004	31,466,770	04.9%	251,195	218,204
2005	32,775,695	04.2%	261,292	222,778
2006	34,163,579	04.2%	263,363	211,857
2007	35,216,113	03.1%	266,550	171,078
2008	34,205,887	02.9%	263,653	107,702
2009	32,392,520	05.3%	251,879	74,680
2010	31,375,290	03.1%	240,500	104,032
2011	33,674,264	07.3%	251,067	88,085
2012	34,235,982	01.7%	246,987	97,567
2013	35,444,206	03.5%	250,520	96,724
2014	38,103,667	07.5%	259,692	88,508
2015	40,269,087	05.7%	267,760	73,371
2016	43,119,628	07.1%	280,666	79,588
2017	45,516,700	05.2%	285,969	96,983
2018	46,075,400	01.1%	283,926	112,600
2019	46,574,786	01.1%	282,896	110,358
2020	10,171,867	078.2%	79,489	26,063
2021	6,260,072	038.5%	52,000	11,623
2022	32,800,000	0423.9%	217,524	36,407
2023	40,894,242	024.7%	253,047	61,123
2024	43,242,000	05.7%	265,358	103,961
^{Source 2000–2016: UK Civil Aviation Authority} ^{Source 2017: Gatwick Airport Limited}

Ground transport

North Terminal A23 roundabout

Getting to and from Gatwick Airport is easy by road, rail, bus, or bike.

By road, you can reach the airport using the M23 motorway from London or the A23 from nearby towns. There are car parks at the airport, but they can fill up during busy times.

The train station at Gatwick has served travelers since 1958. Trains go to and from London, Brighton, and many other places. You can use special cards to travel easily on the trains into London.

Expansion proposals

Main article: Expansion of Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport has often looked at ways to grow. One idea is to build a third terminal or a second runway. An old rule from 1979 stopped a second runway, but this rule ended after 40 years.

In 2013, airport leaders shared a plan for a second runway south of the current one. Another idea was to make the North Terminal longer. In 2011, a plan to connect Gatwick and Heathrow with a fast train was suggested, but it was not chosen.

In 2021, Gatwick began plans to make its runway bigger. This would help the airport serve more passengers and create new jobs. The plan needed approval, and in 2025, it was approved. The changes will help the airport grow and bring more money to the area.