London Gatwick Airport (LGW) is the second busiest airport in the United Kingdom, and also the second largest in London. It is also the world's busiest single runway airport, the world's 22nd busiest airport in terms of passengers numbers, and the world's 7th busiest in terms of international passengers.
London Gatwick Airport is located in Crawley, West Sussex 46 km (28 miles) south of London. The site has been used as an aerodrome going back to the 1930's. For much of its early existence, it was the site of flying school. During the war years, it was used by the British Air Force for aircraft maintenance. It already had an underground train connection since 1936.
Arriving at Gatwick Airport
If you arrive at London Gatwick, you have the following options to reach London:
- Gatwick Express
This is an express train that takes you to London Victoria train station in about 40 minutes. There's one every 15 minutes. The fare is £16.90 one way.
- Southern Railway
This is another train service that goes to London Victoria train station, also taking about 40 minutes, but costs only £11.90. The frequency is also one every 15 minutes.
- First Capital Connect
Yet another train service. This one stops at a number of stations including London Bridge, Blackfriars, City Thameslink, Farringdon and St Pancras International. You can also take it to Luton Airport. You can reach central London for £10.
- National Express
This bus services takes you to the London Victoria train station in around 75-110 minutes.
- Easybus
This bus service takes you to Fulham Broadway in London, in around 60-90 minutes, depending on traffic.
Location of London Gatwick Airport
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View London Gatwick Airport in a larger map
History of London Gatwick Airport
The decision to make in 1950 to use Gatwick as the second international airport after Heathrow. It closed for extensive renovation in 1956, and was reopened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1958. The renovated airport became the world's first passenger airport with railway connection. Today it is served by two terminals, North and South Terminal. Pier 6 at North Terminal, opened in 2005, is the world's longest air passenger bridge. It spans an aircraft taxiway, allowing passengers excellent views of the airport and planes.
Gatwick is owned and operated by BAA which is owned by the Spanish Ferrovial Group. BAA owns and operates six other UK airports including Heathrow. There are 263,363 aircraft movements at Gatwick in 2006. In 2007 the airport surpassed the 35 million passenger milestone. In 2008, Gatwick celebrated 50 years of operations. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 9 June 1958. Today it is the main London base for charter airlines. Many flights to and from USA also use Gatwick due to restrictions at Heathrow. The airport is also a major operational base for British Airways, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic, and the base for charter airlines including First Choice Airways, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomsonfly and XL Airways.
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London Travel Tips is researched and written by Timothy Tye, universally known as Tim. The information provided is in goodwill and is believed to be correct and up-to-date at time of writing. We disclaim responsible for its usage, and encourage users to recheck the information before their trip. Some photos are provided by Panoramio. Photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners. They may only be used under the terms & conditions specified by Panoramio. Photos by third-party owners are captioned and attributed. Photographs that belong to Tim are copyrighted and may not be reused unless you first obtain permission. All of Tim's photographs are available for commercial use under the following licensing terms. Tim is a Christian. Click here to know more about his beliefs.
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