GATWICK AIRPORT GUIDE (LGW)

QUICK FACTS Name: Gatwick Airport IATA Code: LGW ICAO Code: EGKK Opened: 1933 Terminals: 2 Runways: 2 Destinations served:200+ Passengers: 32m (2009)

HISTORY

Gatwick Airport has a long history of providing customers with an excellent service when traveling to a wide variety of locations. The first scheduled flight from Gatwick was to Paris and this happened in 1936. Since then Gatwick Airport and the Gatwick Airport parking facilities have been continually expanding to meet and exceed the expectations of patrons and passengers.

In 1962 Gatwick Airport underwent construction and nearly doubled in size with an enhancement of the runway to accommodate modern jets. In the years of 1967 and 1968 the number of passengers arriving at and departing from Gatwick Airport exceeded two million for the first time. Gatwick Airport and the Gatwick Airport parking facilities will only continue to expand as a means of incorporating and meeting the needs of the millions of passengers who use the airport.
 
In the latter part of the 1800s, the land on which Gatwick Airport now stands areas was used as a racecourse for horses. In the 1930s, the Surrey Aero Club took control of the land and used it as an aerodrome. The Redwing Aircraft Company later bought the land and converted the site into a flying school. Naturally, the Gatwick Airport parking facilities then were used by flight instructors and students who had automobiles because the airport was not used for commercial purposes by that stage.
 
It was only in 1933 that Gatwick Airport was opened for commercial use. The airport was then owned and operated by Airports Limited, which saw to it that the Gatwick Airport parking facilities were big enough to accommodate an increasing number of passengers. The first commercial airline that used the airport was Hillman’s Airways, which served the Belfast and Paris routes. With the construction of a railroad system to serve the airport, more London based passengers were able to access the airport than ever before.
 
Gatwick Airport was substantially modernized in 1936 with the construction of a circular airport terminal.  The terminal included an underground train, which no longer required passengers to step out of the airport building. With this new feature, passengers from London were encouraged to take the train instead of bringing their cars to the Gatwick Airport parking facilities. During World War II, the airport was converted into a military airbase by the Royal Air Force. The Gatwick Airport parking areas were then occupied by military barracks, with some portions converted into hangars. After the Second World War, the airport was once again used for civilian aircraft.