Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: How old is London Gatwick Airport?
Gatwick opened as an aerodrome in the late 1920s; it has been in use for commercial flights since 1933. The airport has two terminals, the North Terminal and the South Terminal, which cover areas of 98,000m2 (117,000sqyd) and 160,000m2 (190,000sqyd) respectively.[8] It operates as a single-runway airport, using a main runway with a length of 3,316m (10,879ft). A secondary runway is available but, due to its proximity to the main runway, can only be used if that is out of use. In 2018, 46.1million passengers passed through the airport, a 1.1% increase compared with 2017.[9] As of 2019, Gatwick is the second busiest airport in the world to only operate one runway (after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport) with a passenger use of 46 million in 2018.[10]
The closest international airport to Croydon is Gatwick Airport, which is located from the town centre. Gatwick Airport opened in August 1930 as an aerodrome and is a major international operational base for British Airways, EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic. It currently handles around 35 million passengers a year, making it London's second largest airport, and the second busiest airport in the United Kingdom after Heathrow. Heathrow, London City and Luton airports all lie within a two hours' drive of Croydon. Gatwick and Luton Airports are connected to Croydon by frequent direct trains, while Heathrow is accessible by the route X26 bus.
The Airline was established in 2002 and started operations in June 2003. It was owned by Mike Hawkins (49.9%) and Shaun Dewey (49.9%) and operated from London Gatwick Airport, Newcastle International Airport and Manchester Ringway Airport. SilverJet acquired Flyjet in October 2006. The Flyjet London Gatwick base was then closed and Head Office and Operations all relocated from London Gatwick Airport to London Luton Airport. The Airline continued to operate under the Flyjet Charter brand from Newcastle and Manchester Airports, with the SilverJet Scheduled brand flying from London Luton Airport. Newcastle and Manchester bases were closed in October 2007 and the two Boeing 757-200ERs (G-FJEA, G-FJEB) were returned to the leasing company, with the Boeing 767-200ER G-FJEC (which was then re-registered as G-SJET) being retained and operated by SilverJet.
Gatwick Airport Up sidings are located near London Gatwick Airport, Crawley, England, situated on the Brighton Main Line south of Gatwick Airport station. The sidings are accessed from the Up Platform Loop line.
Government initiatives in support of Gatwick's development also included new policies to transfer all scheduled services between London and Canada as well as London and the Iberian peninsula from Heathrow to Gatwick by 1 April 1979, banning whole-plane charters at Heathrow and to compel all airlines that were planning to operate a scheduled service to or from London for the first time to use Gatwick instead of Heathrow. The latter policy was officially known as the "London [Air] Traffic Distribution Rules". It came into effect on 1 April 1978 and was applied retroactively from the beginning of April 1977. These rules were designed to achieve a fairer distribution of traffic between London Heathrow and London Gatwick, the UK's two main international gateway airports. The policy was aimed at increasing Gatwick's utilisation to help the airport make a profit.
Sutton is located about from both Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport. Heathrow is served by London Buses route X26 and Gatwick by the National Express Coaches A3 route, which stops outside Sutton railway station. Luton Airport, about to the north, is connected to Sutton by a direct train. Croydon Airport which was partly in the borough of Sutton served as London's main airport in the years prior to the second world war but closed in the 1950s.
National Express services 024 London Victoria to Eastbourne, 025 London Victoria to Brighton and Worthing via Gatwick Airport, 026 London Victoria to Bognor Regis and A3 London Victoria to Gatwick Airport hourly shuttle all stop at Mitcham (Downe Road/Mitcham Library bus stop)
Gatwick Airport (/ˈɡætwɪk/),[3] also known as London Gatwick[1] (IATA: LGW, ICAO: EGKK), is a major international airport near Crawley in West Sussex, southeast England, 29.5 miles (47.5km) south of Central London.[1][4] It is the second-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the United Kingdom, after Heathrow Airport.[5] Gatwick is the eighth-busiest airport in Europe. Until 2017, it was the busiest single-use runway airport in the world, covering a total area of 674 hectares (1,670 acres).[6][7]
Gatwick Handling Limited was an aircraft ground handling agent headquartered at London Gatwick Airport.
London Oyster Cards and contactless cards have been accepted on all rail routes from Gatwick Airport into London[166] since January 2016.[167]
National Express: East Midlands to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports; Newcastle, Darlington and Leeds to London (Victoria); Sunderland, Middlesbrough, York and Leeds to London; Derbyshire and Leicestershire to London; Mansfield and Nottingham to London; Northampton and Milton Keynes to London; Lancashire and Manchester to London; Liverpool via Stoke-On-Trent to London; Huddersfield and Sheffield to London; Bradford and Leeds to London; Scarborough, York, Hull and Doncaster to London; The Lake District and Blackpool to Birmingham and London; Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Carlisle to London; Edinburgh to London and Heathrow Airport; Blackpool, Birmingham, London; Stansted, Luton, Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
Heathrow Airport is 12 nmi (22 km; 14 mi) west of central London, and Gatwick Airport is south of the city. Transport connections between London and the respective airports are good, but the difficulty of travelling directly between Heathrow and Gatwick was noted as soon as the latter was designated London's second main airport.
Following the trial at Gatwick Airport, Gatwick Express, the Train Operating Company responsible for providing ticketing facilities at Gatwick Airport and London Victoria, elected to install an additional five at the former and one at the latter. There were previously six Ascom B8050 machines at Gatwick Airport, so this turned out to be a like-for-like replacement. The machine at London Victoria is close to the Gatwick Express ticket office windows on the dedicated Express platforms; there were two B8050 machines there until around 1991.
The airport railway station, next to the South Terminal, provides connections along the Brighton Main Line to Victoria and London Bridge stations in London and Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Portsmouth, Chichester and Bognor Regis to the south. Although the Gatwick Express to Victoria (operated by Southern) is the best-known service from the station, other companies (including Thameslink and Great Western Railway) also use the station and Southern services Victoria and London Bridge under its own name. Thameslink provides direct trains to Luton Airport; Great Western Railway trains directly link Gatwick Airport with Guildford and Reading for onwards connections to Oxford, Bristol, Plymouth and Cardiff. Pedestrians may reach Heathrow by a X26 Express Bus outside East Croydon station, an intermediate stop for rail service to London.
Low-cost carriers are well established between the UK and Sweden, Norwegian flies from London-Gatwick, Edinburgh, Manchester airports to Arlanda and Gatwick to Gothenburg, with connections to other airports in Sweden. easyJet also flies from Gatwick to Arlanda, plus seasonally to Åre Östersund for skiing and winter holidays. Ryanair flies between London-Stansted to Stockholm-Skavska, Stockholm-Västerås & Gothenburg, with Gothenburg-City, Malmö and Skellefteå airports in the past. Polish airline Enter Air offers seasonal charter flights to Kiruna from eleven British airports.
The first railway station, which was simply named "Gatwick", to be built in this area was opened during September 1891. In 1946, Gatwick station was renamed "Gatwick Racecourse", to reflect its historic association with the neighbouring Gatwick Racecourse, but fell out of use for a decade shortly following the opening of the nearby Tinsley Green, which was quickly renamed "Gatwick Airport", during September 1935. However, the two stations had a reversal of fortunes during the 1950s, as a result of a government decision to expand and develop the Beehive airport terminal to become London's second airport. Gatwick Racecourse was entirely rebuilt to serve the expanded Gatwick Airport, being directly integrated with its newly-built terminal. On 27 May 1958, the rebuilt station, which took over the name "Gatwick Airport", was opened in conjunction with a regular train service, while all services to the previous Gatwick Airport/Tinsley Green station were discontinued from that same day onwards.
The special flight departed from Ankara Esenboğa International Airport bound for London Heathrow Airport via Istanbul Atatürk International Airport and Rome Ciampino Airport . The aircraft left its last stopover, Rome, at 13:02 hrs and called London Airways at 15:56 hrs over Abbeville, just before leaving French airspace. TC-SEV was cleared by air traffic control to the Epsom Radio Range station, the holding fix for London Airport. Over Epsom range at 16:21 hrs, the Turkish Airlines captain was instructed by the London Airport Commandant to divert to Gatwick due to poor visibility at Heathrow.
TC-SEV, cruising at , left Epsom at 16:27 hrs for Mayfield, East Sussex, the holding point for Gatwick. The airport's approach control informed the pilot that it would be positioned by radar for an ILS approach to the easterly Runway 09.
[ vt ] Gatwick Express route London Victoria Gatwick Airport Haywards HeathBurgess HillHassocksBrighton
Farrells, another London architecture firm, advocates expanding Gatwick Airport instead, providing a second runway and reconstructing the passenger terminal. Sir Terry Farrell claims this could be "the world’s most efficient two-runway airport", a quicker and cheaper solution, and that it would "turbocharge" the economy of South London. Gatwick Airport set up a website called "Gatwick Obviously" to promote this idea, although a 1979 legal agreement with West Sussex County Council prohibits construction of a new runway before 2019.Thames Hub Airport proposal
The Gatwick Diamond area is situated directly south of London and covers the east of Surrey and northwest of Sussex. The heart of the area is 30 miles from Central London. By rail, the Gatwick Express can get to Central London in 30 minutes. Gatwick Airport is situated at the centre of the Gatwick Diamond and is a nominal 1 hour's drive from Heathrow Airport, subject to frequent delays on the M25. The Gatwick Diamond is within 1 hour from the sea ports of Shoreham and Newhaven and 90 minutes from Dover, Southampton and Portsmouth sea ports. By road, the M23 bisects the Gatwick Diamond and is just 10 minutes from the M25. By bus, the Metrobus Fastway service takes many employees in the Gatwick Diamond to their workplace; coaches leave Gatwick to reach 400 UK towns and cities. The Gatwick Diamond is an economic area worth £20.7bn GDP (growing at 3% per year), with a population of 680,000.
The old terminal buildings were shut down after the commissioning of the new terminal.
Several European charter airlines fly to Goa seasonally, typically between November and May. Flights from the UK (London Gatwick & Manchester Airport) are operated by Thomson Airways and Thomas Cook Airlines. In addition, Finnair flies to Dubai and Helsinki from the airport as seasonal flights. Thomson Airways also flies commercially to Europe with flights to London–Gatwick on a Boeing 787-8.
Various schemes to create a transport link between Heathrow and Gatwick Airports have been considered, collectively known as "Heathwick". Gatwick lies around south-east of Heathrow Airport, and like Heathrow, it has rapid rail connections into central London but there are no transport connections between the two airports. A fast rail link would allow the airports to operate jointly as an airline hub. Among the schemes has been a 2011 proposal for a high-speed rail link; and a 2013 proposal for a rapid transit system named "London Air Rail Transit system (LARTs)" running parallel to the M25 which would connect Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton Airports.
The airport is accessible from a motorway spur road at junction 9A of the M23, which links to the main M23 motorway 1 mile (1.6km) east at junction 9. The M23 connects with London's orbital motorway, the M25, 9 miles (14km) north; this provides access to much of Greater London, the South East and beyond, and the M23 is the main route for traffic to the airport. Gatwick is also accessible from the A23, which serves Horley and Redhill to the north and Crawley and Brighton to the south. The A217 provides access northwards to the town of Reigate. The airport has long- and short-stay car parks at the airport and off-site, although these are often full in summer. Local restrictions limit parking at (and near) Gatwick.
On 30 September 1935, a station, originally named Tinsley Green, was opened at a location only south of the present station. Within a single year of having opened, it was renamed "Gatwick Airport", following the completion of the nearby Beehive airport terminal, which had a direct connection to the station. During 1940, the airport was requisitioned by the Royal Air Force (RAF) for military use. In 1952, the British government decided that the facility would be expanded to form London's second airport. The station continued to be operation until 27 May 1958, the same day upon which the present Gatwick Airport station (above) was opened. The old Gatwick Airport station, following a discontinuation of services, was later demolished. In the present day, the only visible remains of the old station are sections of the former up slow line platform; sections of the connecting subway between the station and the original terminal building, The Beehive, have also survived.
Reigate is served by Reigate railway station. At peak times a few direct trains run to London Victoria and London Bridge at 40-minute intervals. Off-peak trains run to Gatwick Airport, Reading, Redhill and London Bridge. Trains to London are run by the Southern Railway company and those to Gatwick Airport and Reading by Great Western Railway.