A short history of Gatwick Airport

As theUK's second-largest and the world's busiest single-runwayairport

, Gatwick is the first choice arrival and departure point for more than 35 million passengers every year.

London Gatwick has changed almost beyond recognition since 1931, when it was aprivately-owned,grass airfield. The airport only had one small terminal at the time, and this underwent extensive redevelopment in the 1930s. Newtaxiways and aprons were opened in 1936, and walkways were constructed to allowpassengers to walk straight into the airport from the nearby train station.

Gatwick was used as aRoyal Air Force base during the Second World War, and was able to expand its service area even further when it acquired a local racecourse. When it returned to general use after the war, however, Gatwick Airport was still little more than a grass field.

In the 1950s, Gatwick's importance was recognised when the government named it as London's second airport. The old airport facilities were closed for three years from 1953 for redevelopment, before reopening with a new 2000-feet runway, a modern terminal building and the UK's first ever covered pier to connect aircraft to the terminal.

The terminal was further extended in the 1980s, as increased numbers of passengers used the airport and charter traffic became a greatsource of income. Gatwick soon became an important transatlantic hub, extending its runway to handlethe various long-haul jets which operated out of the airport.

Further improvements were made to the terminal, and a new North Terminal was opened in 1988. Passenger numbers passed 10 million in the 1990s and accelerated over the next decade and into the new millennium, reaching the 35 million mark in 2007. Gatwick's popularity has continued to grow right up to the present day, driven in no small part by the presence of low-cost airlines such as easyJet.

Plans to build a second runway have proved controversial, but there is no doubt that Gatwick's owners will been keen to expand the airport even further as its popularity continues to boom.

A short history of Gatwick Airport

By: Peter Daniel

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