Happy 50th B.day to Gatwick

[HeathrowAirport]

London Gatwick celebrates her 50th
Gatwick is marking 50 years since it opened as one of the UK's major international airports.

It was opened by the Queen in 1958 following a £7.8m development, making it the first airport to combine air, rail and road transport links.

Gatwick is now the sixth largest airport in the world, handling about 33 million passengers a year.

However, celebrations have been marred by the transport link between the north and south terminals breaking down.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, the Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex, Hugh Wyatt, read a message from the Queen at a business breakfast attended by over 100 guests representing airlines, business and local dignitaries.

It is also the busiest Single Runway in the world handling a record 56 movements per hour and holds it's personal record of 62ATM per hour.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/7443805.stm

Video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7444260.stm


Happy Birthday Gatwick!

[JB007]

Thanks you for this LHR APT!

Didn't know any of that was going on or those stats!!! Enjoyed the video too! Just a strip of concrete to me and somewhere to park the car!!!!!

Cheers
JB

[wanderin_star]

My fond memories of Gatwick are the very early package holidays with Dan air. I remember over 30 years ago sitting on plane waiting to take off and the pilot apologising for delay. He was complaining about such a busy airport having only one runway. Here we are 30 years on and the extra runway debate still rumbles on.

[Right Way Up]

I wished I had known that it was the 50th Birthday.

On the LHR 50th Birthday we had to go-around with a sharpish turn to miss the Bristol freighter doing a flypast.

Last night another go-around waking up half of Crawley.

Not bad 5 go-arounds in 15 years, but I've managed to get both Birthday parties in. :\

[BYALPHAINDIA]

Happy Birthday 'GatportAirwick'

And Ill wish myself a happy Birthday 2.;)

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<Gatwick is now the sixth largest airport in the world, handling about 33 million passengers a year.>>

Surely not?? Heathrow is almost minute compared to many US airfields and Gatwick is smaller than Heathrow...??

[Rhys S. Negative]

LGW is 25th busiest in terms of passenger numbers, but outside the top 30 for aircraft movements, according to preliminary 2007 data from Airports Council International.

Must be well out in front for busiest single-runway airport though.

Rhys.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Yes, but the original statement was that it was the sixth largest, which I truly doubt.

Heathrow is usually billed as the world's "busiest", but it is not and never has been although I believe it's fairly busy in terms of international pax movements.

[VAFFPAX]

Happy birthday Gatwick. :-)

As much as this is the ugly stepsister of LHR, nowadays I love flying out of LGW. May the airport be around for a while longer, with better facilities and better ops (crew etc) than any other airport.

*gush*

S.