At this time marks a major milestone for London Gatwick, because the airport celebrates 60 years because it was formally opened in its present kind.
Opened by Queen Elizabeth II on June ninth, 1958, Gatwick Airport turned the primary airport on this planet to mix air, highway and prepare journey in a single close-knit single unit.
The £7.eight million building mission in 1958 remodeled Gatwick into a worldwide journey hub.
Taking up two-and-a-half years to finish and marking a brand new starting for air journey within the UK, it turned the primary airport on this planet to have a direct railway hyperlink, permitting passengers to take pleasure in a seamless journey from the second their travels began.
Elevated passenger demand and the trendy age of air journey, with the introduction of plane just like the Jumbo Boeing 747-400, required three runway extensions in 1964, 1970 and 1973 – the latter enabled continuous flights from the US West Coast to start.
John F Kennedy joins Harold Macmillan at Gatwick
With an ever-increasing variety of passenger planes arriving each day, Gatwick opened its new management tower in 1984, which on the time of completion was the tallest within the UK.
In the identical 12 months the Gatwick Categorical was launched, additional cementing Gatwick’s place as an accessible and main vacation spot for international journey.
In 1988, the Queen returned to open the £200 million North Terminal, which in flip noticed the principle terminal renamed because the South.
Simply ten years later, a fourth runway extension was required, with easyJet’s residence on the airport beginning the next 12 months in 1999.
Pope John Paul II arrives at Gatwick Airport
The noughties started with extensions to each the North and South terminals, totalling £60 million.
This was adopted by Gatwick constructing the most important air passenger bridge on this planet, which totals 194 metres in size.
In 2012, new house owners World Infrastructure Companions introduced a £2.5 billion funding programme, additional growing Gatwick’s standing as a world-leading airport.
That 12 months additionally noticed Emirates begin its scheduled A380 service at Gatwick – making it one of many only a few airports on the time that might accommodate the subsequent technology of passenger airplanes.
4 years later in 2016, Gatwick opened the world’s largest self-service bag drop zone.
Unmatched in dimension, innovation and ambition, this highlighted Gatwick’s dedication to placing passengers on the coronary heart of its operations by dramatically decreasing queues.
Diana, princess of Wales, visits Gatwick Airport
Lastly got here the large transfer.
Final 12 months noticed easyJet, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic all swap terminals – in simply 72 hours – as a part of the most important operational reshuffle in Gatwick’s historical past.
Discussing the anniversary, Andy Pule, head of terminal operations at Gatwick, stated: “All through its historical past, Gatwick has remained on the forefront of innovation, investing billions over time to make sure that we’re always pushing the boundaries and delivering the absolute best expertise for our passengers.
“It’s been an unbelievable 60 years at Gatwick and we now have had a powerful impression in making air journey accessible to thousands and thousands of individuals.
“Now, as we transfer into our seventh decade, we stay up for persevering with our success story, with extra international connections repeatedly being added to our thriving route community, and extra pioneering options being offered to boost the passenger expertise.”
Queen Elizabeth II opened Gatwick Airport 60 years in the past right now
Extra Info
Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and essentially the most environment friendly single-runway airport on this planet.
It serves greater than 228 locations in 74 international locations for 45 million passengers a 12 months on brief and long-haul point-to-point providers.
It is usually a significant financial driver for the UK contributing £5.three billion to nationwide GDP and producing 85,000 jobs nationally, with round 24,000 on the broader airport campus alone.
The airport is south of central London with glorious public transport hyperlinks, together with the Gatwick Categorical, and is a part of the Oyster contactless fee community.
Gatwick Airport is owned by a gaggle of worldwide funding funds, of which World Infrastructure Companions is the biggest shareholder.
Discover out extra on the official web site.
Be the first to comment