Any LGW ATCO out there who can explain what determines the order of departures at LGW. Some things are obvious like alternating the deps on different routes (eg. LAM and SAM departures off 26L ). Over the years have heard many different theories eg. push-back order determining the take-off order , but have also heard a lot of frustated pilots talking about being there for a long time and then a " Speedbird " turning up and going ahead of every body ! So what really determines the order ?
