Gatwick Airport Information

Gatwick Airport is London's second largest airport and is the busiest single runway airport in the world. It is the second largest airport in the U.K. and the sixth busiest airport in the world.

Gatwick Airport consists of two terminals North Terminal & South Terminal. Over 70 different airlines use Gatwick serving around 200 destinations around the world. On a busy day in the summer Gatwick handles over 800 plane movements.

Gatwick was heavily reliant on the holiday/charter flight market but has over the years become less dependant on this and re established itself as a major international hub for scheduled services which now account for over a quarter of Gatwick's passengers - and in fact its traffic is set to grow to over 40 million passengers a year by 2008.

Facilities for both terminals are very good with countless shops, restaurants and bars. Further investment of £100 million into the airport is currently underway.

Gatwick Airport provides direct employment for approximately 28,000 people and there are over 300 companies associated with the airport.Gatwick is only 28 miles to Central London and is well connected by road and rail.

Getting to Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport has one of the best set of public transport links for passengers to get to.

By Car

Gatwick Airport is at Junction 9 of the M23 and on the A23 London - Brighton road. The M25 is just 10 minutes drive away from Junction 9, M23.

Drop off & pick up

If you intending to drop off or collect passengers you will need to go to the signposted area Set Down & Pick Up point. For security reasons private cars may not stop on the terminal forecourt roads for any purpose other than to drop off or pick up passengers. Cars cannot be left unattended at any time and are liable to be towed away by the police where a retrieval charge is levied.

Petrol Stations

There are petrol stations located at both North and South terminals. Both operate 24 hours a day.

Route Planner

To make it easy and plan your route to the airport the RAC route planner can give you detailed directions for your journey. Click Here to use.

By Train

There are more than 900 train services daily to and from Gatwick Airport train station going to all parts of the UK. The station is located at the South Terminal and is directly linked to the terminal via escalators or lift. The North terminal can be reached via the transit monorail train link taking approx 2 minutes and running every 3 minutes in peak hours and every 6 minutes at all other times.

Rail information and ticket desks are located in the arrivals areas of both North Terminal and South Terminal.

Gatwick Express is a non-stop service to Victoria Station, London which takes around 30 minutes.

Thameslink offers services every 15 minutes to Brighton, Croydon, the City, Luton and Bedford.

South Central services operate every 15 minutes during the day to and from Victoria - and every hour at night. South Central offers other options for onward travel with trains calling at East Croydon and Clapham Junction to the North and Brighton, Eastbourne, Portsmouth to the South as well as other south coast destinations.Services operate Northwards to East Croydon, Clapham Junction, Victoria and Watford Junction.

South Eastern Trains (Formerly Connex) - South Eastern Trains (SET) has now taken over the operation of south eastern rail services from Connex - Services operate to Redhill, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

Thames Trains services run to Redhill, Guildford and Reading with some trains running through to Oxford.

Virgin Trains Cross Country Services operate to destinations including Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Further information from train operators

By Coach or Bus

There are more than 400 express coach services a day from the coach stations at North and South Terminals. Gatwick's coach station is at the ground floor of South Terminal and principle services also call at North Terminal.

Coach information and ticket desks are located in the arrivals areas of both North Terminal and South Terminal.

National Express has taken its Flightlink, Jetlink and Speedlink coaches running between Heathrow and Gatwick and created National Express Airport, giving you a better service with many more coaches operating between the airports. Their coach services operate from dedicated bases at the South and North Terminals. All other coach services stop at London Gatwick's coach station on the ground floor of South Terminal. Principal services also call at North Terminal. Other passengers arriving at the South Terminal should take the transit train to the North Terminal if necessary.

The average journey time between Heathrow and Gatwick is approximately 80 minutes depending on traffic and time of day. Journeys may take longer at peak traffic times.

Further information 08705 757 747 - www.nationalexpress.com

There is also a frequent 'Airbus' service, the A5 from Victoria coach station, London. The first service leaves London at 06:35 and the last being 23:25. During the day there is an hourly service departing Victoria at 25 minutes past the hour. Journey time to Gatwick is approx. 90 minutes. The A5 service connects to both the North & South terminals. Information: 0870 574 7777

By Taxi

Chauffeur driven car hire services are provided by the airport's official concessionaire, Checker Cars.

There is a quoted fare system and taxis can be pre-booked with fares paid in advance by cash or credit card, or at the end of the journey. Checker Cars has a booking office in the North Terminal arrivals area and a booking office in the northern entrance building leading to the South Terminal.

Cars with swivel seats are available for disabled travellers.

Further information from Taxi Operators, call Checker Cars on 0800 747 737

Gatwick Airport carries out its operations from two terminals South Terminal & North Terminal.

South Terminal

This is the original terminal at Gatwick and has expanded to handle the burgeoning traffic - over 32 million people currently use the airport each year.The Departures and Arrivals areas are housed on the same level but have completely seperate facilities. The Departure check-in arrangements are good with overhead TV monitors and clear signs at each entrance.

Some of the airlines that operate from South Terminal include American Airlines, Continental, Northwest, US Airways and Virgin Atlantic flights and many others.

One of the South Terminal's main attractions is the shopping and catering area on the upper mezzanine floor which serves both Departures and Arrivals. There is a wide choice to suit all tastes from fast take away to village taverns and restaurents.

This whole area is known as The Village and can be used for all passengers and visitors alike. For passengers of Gatwick's South Terminal once you go Airside to the International Departure lounge there is another impressive array of shops (with duty free prices), but the choice of catering is more limited.

North Terminal

The North Terminal is the newer of Gatwick's two terminals and was built to handle the increasing traffic at the U.K's second busiest airport. It handles all British Airways flights and its partner airlines plus other airlines.

The Departures and Arrivals floors are separated by a mid-level containing The Avenue which is where most of the shops and catering facilities are located. Upstairs on the Departures level the check-in area is spacious with TV monitors indicating the check-in zone and desk for each flight.

As with the South Terminal the selection of food outlets range from coffee & snacks to a table service restaurant, a burger bar and of course the 'English pub'. In this terminal the choice of shops is as good Landside as it is Airside.

The North Terminal is generally quieter that the South Terminal and as such gives a more relaxed and calm atmosphere.

Connecting between terminals

The terminals are connected by a monorail, taking around 2 minutes and running every 3 minutes during peak periods and every 6 minutes at all other times.