Gatwick Airport Information
Gatwick Airport is one of the largest and busiest airports in the UK, second only to London Heathrow. It is the busiest single runway airport in the world, with 31 million people flying from here each year, on over 100 airlines, to almost 200 destinations across the world.
London Gatwick Airport (LGW) is easily accessible by road and rail, being well-signposted on the motorways and well-served by regular trains. The airport is located 28 miles from central London in the south-east of England.
Flying from Gatwick Airport means departing from one of two terminal buildings; the North terminal or the South terminal. There is a convenient monorail Inter Terminal train that connects the two, with trains running regularly every three minutes and taking just 2 minutes to make the journey.
As you would expect from such a large and busy airport, airport parking is in abundance at Gatwick. If you are travelling to the airport by car, Airparks can recommend and superb range of affordable Gatwick Airport parking options to suit your needs. Booking in advance with Airparks can save you up to 60% off the on-the-gate parking prices, and all our car parks are covered by our Best Price Guarantee.
Gatwick Airport Inter-Terminal Transfer
The terminal connecting trains run every 3-4 minutes - taking under two minutes from each terminal:
North Terminal If you transfer to the South Terminal, the monorail is on The Avenue shopping floor which is between the Departure/check-in level and the Arrivals level.
South Terminal The monorail station can be found on the main Departures/Arrivals floor close to the main Gatwick Airport train station. Follow the signs.
Gatwick Airport Security Arrangements/Check-in
15,000 banned items are being confiscated every day from passengers, at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick airports. The whole system has slowed down because people are still carrying sharp objects in their hand luggage. In the UK, an extra £30m of additional investment has been ploughed into airport security and improving surveillance at the major airports. Tighter security measures at UK Airports means that checking in for your flight at Gatwick Airport can take longer.
Airport Coach station
Gatwick Airport's coach station is at the ground floor of the South Terminal and most services also call at the North Terminal. There are coach information and ticket desks in the arrivals areas of both terminals.
Baggage Allowances/Luggage Restrictions
The majority of airlines base their allowances on recommendations from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). If your hold baggage is heavier than the allowance, the airline is entitled to charge an excess baggage charge. If your cabin luggage is overweight or too big, you might be asked to check it in to the hold. If doing so takes your hold luggage above your hold baggage allowance, you might have to pay excess baggage charges. Sometimes, you will get right to the boarding gate before you are asked to check your bags into the hold.
Gatwick Airport Terminal Information
Each Arrivals concourse has an information desk where multi-lingual staff are on hand to deal with enquiries 24 hours a day. BAA, the authority that runs Gatwick Airport, also have a new and expanding service for tracking the flight that you are interested in meeting or catching called the 'Flying Messenger'.
| Gatwick Airport Contacts | Telephone Number |
| Customs and Excise | +44 (0)208 910 3744 |
| British Transport Police | +44 (0)1293 549304. |
| Skyview | +44 (0)1293 502244 |
| North Terminal information | +44 (0)870 000 2468 |
| South Terminal information | +44 (0)870 000 2468 |
| Business Centre | +44 (0)1293 555777 |
| Baggage Storage | +44 (0)1293 502014 |
| Lost Property | +44 (0)1293 503162 |
| Medical Services | +44 (0)1293 507400 |
| Gatwick Railway Station | +44 (0)8457 484950 |
| Gatwick Express | +44 (0)0845 8501530 |
| National Rail Enquiries | +44 (0)0845 7484950 |
| Thameslink Trains | +44 (0)020 7620 6333 |
| South East Trains | +44 (0)8706 030 405 |
| National Express Coaches | +44 (0)8705 757 747 |
| Taxis - North Terminal | +44 (0)1293 507 448 |
| Taxis - South Terminal | +44 (0)1293 502 808 |