How old is gatwick airport

In August the British Airports Authority agreed not to build a second runway at Gatwick for at least 40 years, in return for being allowed to upgrade the taxiway for temporary use as an emergency landing strip.

During the following month the BAA outlined its plans for the future of Gatwick. These included a second terminal building, linked to the existing one by a driverless tracked transit system. Gatwick Airport: The first fifty years. The story of Gatwick Airport really began in when two young men who had met whilst learning to fly at Croydon Airport purchased a plot of land near Gatwick Racecourse in Sussex in order to set up their own airfield and flying club.

Their aerodrome was purchased in by Mr A Jackaman, who formed a new company called Airports Ltd to run the airfields he owned at Gatwick and at Gravesend as commercial airports. By Charles Woodley. The opening of Gatwick Airport Sign up for our newsletter Enter your email address below to get the latest news and exclusive content from The History Press delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up. However, it was still primarily grassland when it came to civil use in Although the previous flying field was closed for major improvements, once it formally reopened 3 years later, Gatwick had already been re-modelled into a contemporary facility with a ft.

Charter traffic became big business within the s with over 1M passengers travelling through Gatwick. This is the first time a commercial airport handled more than movements with only one runway. The global pandemic saw restrictions on international travel and flight operations were restricted to one terminal.

This is the first time that flights operated out of a single terminal since and the opening of North Terminal. Latest financial results Investor presentations Reports and financial statements Prospectus Other financial documents Contact us Terms of use. Since then, new innovations include the opening of a second terminal, a new control tower, Gatwick Express and the passenger bridge.

Increased passenger demand and the introduction of bigger aircraft like the Jumbo Boeing , meant that they airport had to build three runway extensions in , and - the latter enabling non-stop flights from the US West Coast to begin.