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hotel in gatwick

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a hotel in gatwick

A hotel, in a town like Gatwick, , is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis.

The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning or climate control.

Additional common features found in hotel rooms are a telephone, an alarm clock, a television, a safe, a mini-bar with snack foods and drinks, and facilities for making tea and coffee.

Luxury features include bathrobes and slippers, a pillow menu, twin-sink vanities, and jacuzzi bathtubs.

Larger hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a restaurant, swimming pool, fitness center, business center, childcare, conference facilities and social function services.

Hotel rooms are usually numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and B&Bs) to allow guests to identify their room.

Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement.

In the United Kingdom, in a town like Gatwick, , a hotel is required by law to serve food and drinks to all guests within certain stated hours.

In Japan, capsule hotels provide a minimized amount of room space and shared facilities.

The word hotel is derived from the French hotel (coming from hote meaning host), which referred to a French version of a townhouse or any other building seeing frequent visitors, rather than a place offering accommodation.

In contemporary French usage, hotel now has the same meaning as the English term, and hotel particulier is used for the old meaning.

The French spelling, with the circumflex, was also used in English, but is now rare.

The circumflex replaces the 's' found in the earlier hostel spelling, which over time took on a new, but closely related meaning.

Grammatically, hotels usually take the definite article - hence "The Astoria Hotel" or simply "The Astoria.

" Hotel operations in a hotel vary in size, function, and cost.

Most hotels and major hospitality companies that operate hotels have set widely accepted industry standards to classify hotel types.

General categories include the following; * Upscale Luxury.

o Examples include Conrad Hotels, InterContinental Hotels, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Dorchester Collection,and JW Marriott Hotels.

* Full Service.

o Examples include Hilton, Marriott, Hotel Indigo, Doubletree, and Hyatt.

* Select Service.

o Examples include Holiday Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn.

* Limited Service.

o Examples include Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn, Days Inn, and La Quinta Inns & Suites.

* Extended Stay.

o Examples include Staybridge Suites, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Residence Inn by Marriott, and Extended Stay Hotels.

* Timeshare.

o Examples include Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Marriott Vacation Club International, Westgate Resorts, and Disney Vacation Club.

* Destination Club.

Hotel management is a significant career.

Larger hotels may operate with an extensive management structure consisting of a General Manager which serves as the head executive, department heads that oversee various departments, middle managers, administrative staff, and line-level supervisors.

Degree programs such as hospitality management studies, a business degree, and/or certification programs prepare hotel managers for industry practice.

Some hotels, a hotel in gatwick for instance, have gained their renown through tradition, by hosting significant events or persons, such as Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam, Germany, which derives its fame from the Potsdam Conference of the World War II allies Winston Churchill, Harry Truman and Joseph Stalin in 1945.

The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai is one of India's most famous and historic hotels because of its association with the Indian independence movement.

Some establishments have given name to a particular meal or beverage, as is the case with the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, United States where the Waldorf Salad was first created or the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, Austria, home of the Sachertorte.

Others have achieved fame by association with dishes or cocktails created on their premises, such as the Hotel de Paris where the crepe Suzette was invented or the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where the Singapore Sling cocktail was devised.

A number of hotels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture, such as the Ritz Hotel in London, through its association with Irving Berlin's song, 'Puttin' on the Ritz'.

The Algonquin Hotel in New York City is famed as the meeting place of the literary group, the Algonquin Round Table, and Hotel Chelsea, also in New York City, has been the subject of a number of songs and the scene of the stabbing of Nancy Spungen (allegedly by her boyfriend Sid Vicious).

Many hotels can be considered destinations in themselves, by dint of unusual features of the lodging or its immediate environment: Boutique hotels are typically hotels like with a unique environment.

Some hotels are built with living trees as structural elements, for example the Costa Rica Tree House in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica; the Treetops Hotel in Aberdare National Park, Kenya; the Ariau Towers near Manaus, Brazil, on the Rio Negro in the Amazon; and Bayram's Tree Houses in Olympos, Turkey.

In Nax Mont-Noble, a little ski resort situated on 1300 metres in the Swiss Alps, construction for the Maya Guesthouse will start in September 2011.

It will be the first hotel in Europe built entirely with straw bales.

Due to the isolation values of the walls it will need no heating.

The Null Stern Hotel in Teufen, Appenzellerland, Switzerland and the Concrete Mushrooms in Albaniaare former nuclear bunkers transformed into hotels.

Shoe hotels are hotels built into a giant shoe.

The idea was inspired by the "Old Woman who lived in a shoe" myth.

The largest such hotel is currently in Hokkaido, Japan.

The most popular shoe hotels are modelled after a woman's platform dancing shoe.

The Cuevas Pedro Antonio de AlarcOn (named after the author) in Guadix, Spain, as well as several hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey, are notable for being built into natural cave formations, some with rooms underground.

The Desert Cave Hotel in Coober Pedy, South Australia is built into the remains of an opal mine.

Capsule hotels are a type of economical hotel that are found in Japan, where people sleep in stacks of rectangular containers.

The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, and the Hotel de Glace in Duschenay, Canada, melt every spring and are rebuilt each winter; the Mammut Snow Hotel in Finland is located within the walls of the Kemi snow castle; and the Lainio Snow Hotel is part of a snow village near Yllas, Finland.

Garden hotels, famous for their gardens before they became hotels, include Gravetye Manor, the home of garden designer William Robinson, and Cliveden, designed by Charles Barry with a rose garden by Geoffrey Jellicoe.

Some hotels have accommodation underwater, such as Utter Inn in Lake Malaren, Sweden.

Hydropolis, project cancelled 2004 in Dubai, would have had suites on the bottom of the Persian Gulf, and Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida requires scuba diving to access its rooms.

Other unusual hotels - RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California, United States.

* The Library Hotel in New York City, is unique in that each of its ten floors is assigned one category from the Dewey Decimal System.

* The Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, built on an artificial island, is structured in the shape of a boat's sail.

* The Jailhotel Lowengraben in Lucerne, Switzerland is a converted prison now used as a hotel.

* The Luxor, a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States is unusual due to its pyramidal structure.

* The Liberty Hotel in Boston, used to be the Charles Street Jail.

* Built in Scotland and completed in 1936, The former ocean liner RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, United States uses its first-class staterooms as a hotel, after retiring in 1967 from Transatlantic service.

* There are several hotels throughout the world built into converted airliners.

Some hotels are built specifically to create a captive trade, example at casinos and holiday resorts.

Though of course hotels have always been built in popular destinations, the defining characteristic of a resort hotel is that it exists purely to serve another attraction, the two having the same owners.

In Las Vegas there is a tradition of one-upmanship with luxurious and extravagant hotels in a concentrated area known as the Las Vegas Strip.

This trend now has extended to other resorts worldwide, but the concentration in Las Vegas is still the world's highest: nineteen of the world's twenty-five largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 67,000 rooms.

In Europe Center Parcs might be considered a chain of resort hotels, since the sites are largely man-made (though set in natural surroundings such as country parks) with captive trade, whereas holiday camps such as Butlins and Pontin's are probably not considered as resort hotels, since they are set at traditional holiday destinations which existed before the camps.

Frequently, expanding railway companies built grand hotels at their termini, such as the Midland Hotel, Manchester next to the former Manchester Central Station and in London the ones above St Pancras railway station and Charing Cross railway station also in London is the Chiltern Court Hotel above Baker Street tube station and Canada's grand railway hotels.

They are or were mostly, but not exclusively, used by those travelling by rail.

A motel (motor hotel) is a hotel which is for a short stay, usually for a night, for motorists on long journeys.

It has direct access from the room to the vehicle (for example a central parking lot around which the buildings are set), and is built conveniently close to major roads and intersections.

In 2006, Guinness World Records listed the First World Hotel in Genting Highlands, Malaysia as the world's largest hotel with a total of 6,118 rooms.

Similarly, the Venetian Palazzo Complex, in Las Vegas, has the most number of rooms.

It has 7,117 rooms followed by MGM Grand Hotel, which contains 6,852 rooms.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest hotel still in operation is the Hoshi Ryokan, in the Awazu Onsen area of Komatsu, Japan which opened in 718.

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong is the tallest building used exclusively as a hotel.

Located on the top of Hong Kong's tallest building, the 488 meter tall International Commerce Centre.

Some hotels sell individual rooms to investors.

Timeshare is an example of this kind of investment.

The buyer is allowed to stay in the room without charge or at a reduced rate for a given number of days each year.

The investor is paid a share of the takings for the room.

Rooms can be sold on a leasehold basis, sometimes on a 999 year lease.

Room owners are free to sell at any time.

A number of public figures have notably chosen to take up semi-permanent or permanent residence in hotels.

* Actor Richard Harris lived at the Savoy Hotel while in London.

Hotel archivist Susan Scott recounts an anecdote that when he was being taken out of the building on a stretcher shortly before his death he raised his hand and told the diners "it was the food.

" * Inventor Nikola Tesla lived the last 10 years of his life at the New Yorker Hotel until 1943 when he died in the hotel room.

* Millionaire Howard Hughes lived his last few years in a Las Vegas hotel.

* Egyptian actor Ahmad Zaki lived his last 15 years in Ramses Hilton Hotel - Cairo.

* Larry Fine (of the Three Stooges) and his family lived in hotels, due to his extravagant spending habits and his wife's dislike for housekeeping.

They first lived in the President Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where his daughter Phyllis was raised, then the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood.

Not until the late 1940s did Larry buy a home in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, California.

* General Douglas McArthur lived his last 14 years in the penthouse of the Waldorf Towers, a part of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

* American actress Elaine Stritch lived in the Savoy Hotel in London for over a decade.

* Fashion designer Coco Chanel lived in the Hotel Ritz Paris on and off for more than 30 years.

* Vladimir Nabokov and his wife Vera lived in the Montreux Palace Hotel in Montreux, Switzerland from 1961 until his death in 1977.

* British entrepreneur Jack Lyons lived in the Hotel Mirador Kempinski in Switzerland for several years until his death in 2008.

Hotels, like a hotel in gatwick, have been used as the settings for television programmes such as the British situation comedies Fawlty Towers and I'm Alan Partridge, the British soap opera Crossroads, and in films such as the Bates Motel in Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho and The Dolphin Hotel in 1408, a short story by Stephen King which was adapted into a 2007 film.

Another is Tipton Hotel, a fictitious hotel in Disney's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody".

When the show later became a spinoff into "The Suite Life on Deck," the Tipton evolved into the SS Tipton, run by the same company.

a hotel in gatwick

Gatwick is a small village in Surrey, England in the borough of Waverley.

It lies to near the villages of Puttenham, Charleshill, Elstead and Peper Harrow.

The village lies close to the Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons.

* 1241: The name "Gatwick" is first recorded, as Gatwik, the name of a manor on the site of today's airport.

Until the 19th century it was owned by the De Gatwick family.

Its name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words gat, 'goat', and wic, 'dairy farm', i.

'goat farm'.

(On the adjacent map, Gatwick Manor is at the northwest end of the racecourse; its name is somewhat obscured by the map's paper being eroded over an old crease.

The site of the modern runway runs roughly from the racecourse to the lane junction at Hydefield farm southeast of Charlwood).

* 1890: The descendants of the original owners sold the area to the newly established Gatwick Race Course Company.

* 1891: The new owners opened a racecourse beside the London-Brighton railway, and a dedicated station including sidings for horse boxes.

The course held steeplechase and flat races.

During World War I the course hosted the Grand National.

* Late 1920s: Land adjacent to the racecourse at Hunts Green Farm along Tinsley Green Lane was used as an aerodrome.

* August 1930: Following a change in land ownership, the aerodrome was licensed.

* Later in 1930: The Surrey Aero Club was formed at the aerodrome by a Mr Waters, who had been the manager of Home Counties Aircraft Service Ltd based at Penshurst Airfield in Kent.

Surrey Aero Club used the old Hunts Green farmhouse as club house.

* 1932: Redwing Aircraft Company bought the aerodrome and operated a flying school.

The aerodrome was also used for pilots flying in to races.

* 1933: The Air Ministry approved commercial flights from Gatwick.

The aerodrome was sold for �13,500 to Morris Jackaman, an investor.

* 1934: Morris Jackaman formed a new airport company named Airports Limited.

Hillman's Airways became Gatwick's first commercial airline operator as a result of starting scheduled services from the airport to Belfast and Paris.

* September 1935: A new railway station called Gatwick served by two trains an hour on the Victoria-Brighton line opened.

(The present Gatwick station is on the same site).

* 1935: A new airline named Allied British Airways was formed, by a merger between Hillman's Airways, United Airways and Spartan Airways.

The newly formed carrier, which subsequently shortened its name to British Airways, became Gatwick's principal operator.

* 30 September 1935: Tinsley Green railway station opened 1 mile south of the present Gatwick station.

* 17 May 1936: The first scheduled flight to depart The Beehive was bound for Paris.

The applicable air fare was �4 5s, including a first class rail ticket from London Victoria.

* June 1936: The world's first circular airport terminal, called The Beehive, opened at Gatwick.

It was designed by Frank Hoar and included a subway to Gatwick Airport railway station that enabled passengers to travel from London Victoria Station to the aircraft without stepping outside.

Tinsley Green railway station was renamed Gatwick Airport.

* September and November 1936: Two fatal accidents questioned the airport's safety.

Moreover, the area was prone to fog and waterlogging as a result of poor drainage due to heavy clay soils.

This in turn caused the new subway to flood after rain.

* 1937: As a result and because longer landing strips were needed, the pre-war British Airways moved to Croydon Airport.

Gatwick went back to private flying and was contracted as a Royal Air Force (RAF) flying school.

The airport also attracted repair companies.

* September 1939: The Air Ministry requisitioned Gatwick.

* World War II: Although the airfield became a base for RAF night-fighters and an army co-operation squadron, it was mainly a repair and maintenance facility.

* 1940: Horse racing at Gatwick stopped and never restarted.

* 1946: Gatwick Airport was officially decommissioned, but the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation continued to operate it as a civil airfield, initially for a six-month trial period.

During that period, the airport provided maintenance facilities and charter companies flying war-surplus aircraft started to use it; however, persistent drainage issues affected the airport's usage.

Most commercial air services were cargo flights.

The original Gatwick railway station was renamed Gatwick Racecourse.

* November 1948: The owners warned that the airport could be de-requisitioned by November 1949 and revert to private use.

Stansted was favoured as London's second airport and Gatwick's future was in doubt.

* 1950: Despite opposition from local authorities, the Cabinet decided that Gatwick was to be an alternative to Heathrow.

* July 1952: The Government said that the airport was to be developed, primarily to cater to aircraft diverted from Heathrow in bad weather.

* 1956�1958: Temporary closure for a �8 million renovation.

During that period, British European Airways (BEA) continued using Gatwick for its helicopter operations.

The redevelopment was carried out by Alfred McAlpine.

It entailed diverting the A23 London-Brighton trunk road and the River Mole, and building the runway across the erstwhile racecourse site and rebuilding the former racecourse railway station alongside the new terminal.

The main pier of what is now the South Terminal was built during this construction work.

* 27 May 1958: The original Gatwick railway station, which had been rebuilt, reopened as Gatwick Airport.

The railway station at Tinsley Green shut and never reopened.

* 30 May 1958: Before the official opening, Transair operated the first commercial air service from the new Gatwick.

; a Jersey Airlines de Havilland Heron was the first scheduled aircraft to arrive at the newly reconstructed airport.

* 9 June 1958: Queen Elizabeth II flew into the new airport in a de Havilland Heron of the Queen's Flight to perform the opening.

The first "official" flight to depart Gatwick following the reopening ceremony was a BEA DC-3 operating a charter for Surrey County Council to Jersey and Guernsey.

Gatwick was the world's first airport with a direct railway link and the first to combine mainline rail travel, trunk road facilities and an air terminal building in one unit.

It was also one of the first to have an enclosed pier-based terminal, which allowed passengers to walk under cover to waiting areas close to aircraft with only a short walk outdoors.

Another novel feature of Gatwick's new air terminal was its modular design.

This permitted subsequent, phased expansion.

* 8 June 1959: BEA started using Gatwick.

It was followed by BEA Helicopters and BEA Airtours, which made the airport their base.

Sudan Airways and BWIA West Indies Airways were among Gatwick's first scheduled overseas airlines.

The former's Blue Nile services were the first scheduled flights from Gatwick by a foreign airline.

These services operated between Khartoum and London Gatwick via Cairo, Athens and Rome, initially using Airwork Vickers Viscount aircraft.

British United Airways (BUA) assumed this operation the following year, as a result of the Airwork - Hunting-Clan merger.

(BUA were also acting as Sudan Airways's technical advisers).

US supplemental carriers Seven Seas Airlines, Capitol International, President Airlines and Transocean Airlines, as well as various South European and Scandinavian charter operators, figured prominently among Gatwick's early overseas users.

* Late 1950s: From here on, a number of Britain's private airlines established themselves at Gatwick.

The first was Transair.

It was followed by Airwork, Hunting-Clan and Morton Air Services.

In July 1960, these merged to form British United Airways.

Throughout the 1960s, BUA was Britain's largest independent airline.

During that decade, it became Gatwick's largest resident airline.

By the end of the decade, it also became the airport's leading scheduled operator, with a 71,000 kilometres (44,100 mi) network of short, medium and long-haul routes across Europe, Africa and South America.

These were served with contemporary BAC One-Eleven and Vickers VC10 jet aircraft.

* Early 1960s: Despite rapid expansion of BUA's and other airlines' scheduled activities at Gatwick, the airport was dominated by non-scheduled services well into the 1980s.

The bulk of these were inclusive tour (IT) passenger services provided by a growing number of British independent operators and their overseas counterparts.

During the 1960s, IT services accounted for between two-thirds and three-quarters of Gatwick's annual passengers, earning the airport its bucket and spade tag.

* 1962: Two additional piers were added.

* 1 May 1963: Non-scheduled operators began implementing the Ministry of Aviation's instruction to transfer all regular charter flights from Heathrow to Gatwick, restricting the former's use for non-scheduled operations to "occasional" charter flights only.

* 1964: Gatwick's original, relatively short 7,000 feet (2,134 metres) 1950s runway was extended by 1,200 ft (365 m) to 8,200 ft (2,499 m) due to new noise rules governing the operation of jet aircraft at airports close to or surrounded by densely populated urban areas.

* 1965: By now, each of the three piers was nearly 1,000 feet (300 m) long and the entire terminal complex had a floor area of 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2).

Fully extendible jet bridges were added when the piers were rebuilt and extended in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

* The Bridge to Pier 6 in the North Terminal opened in 2005.

* Inter-terminal transit track and Sofitel hotel.

The North Terminal building is in the background.

* Inside the world's largest air passenger bridge at the North Terminal's Pier 6.

* View of Gatwick's apron from the North Terminal passenger bridge, looking towards the South Terminal.

* South Terminal international arrivals concourse.

* Gatwick's North Terminal building and transit station.

* 1970: Second extension of Gatwick's runway by 875 ft (267 m) to 9,075 ft (2,766 m) to permit non-stop jet operations to the US east coast with a full payload and full-range/payload operations by British United and Caledonian BAC One-Eleven 500s.

* Late November 1970: BUA was acquired by the Scottish charter airline Caledonian Airways.

The new airline was known as Caledonian//BUA.

BUA's takeover by Caledonian enabled the latter to transform itself into a scheduled airline.

In addition to scheduled routes inherited from BUA, it launched scheduled services to Europe, North and West Africa, North America as well as the Middle and Far East during the 1970s and '80s.

* September 1971: Caledonian//BUA became British Caledonian (BCal).

* November 1971: BCal commenced the first scheduled service by a wholly private UK airline since the 1930s between London and Paris from Gatwick to Le Bourget.

* November 1972: Laker Airways became the first operator of widebody aircraft at Gatwick, following the introduction of two McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 aircraft.

Laker's DC-10 fleet expanded throughout the 1970s and early '80s with longer-range variants.

* 1973: Third extension of Gatwick's runway to 10,165 ft (3,098 m) to allow non-stop narrowbody operations to the US west coast with a full payload and commercially viable, long-range widebody operations.

* April 1973: BCal inaugurated the first transatlantic scheduled services by a private UK airline to New York and Los Angeles.

* March and May 1977: BCal introduced its first two DC-10s at Gatwick.

* 26 September 1977: Laker Airways launched Skytrain, Gatwick's first daily long-haul, no frills flights to John F.

Kennedy (JFK) Airport.

* 1 April 1978: As passenger numbers had grown steadily since the late 1970s, as a result of several Government initiatives in support of Gatwick's development, new policies came into effect to transfer all scheduled services between London and the Iberian peninsula from Heathrow to Gatwick, and compelling all airlines that were planning to operate a scheduled service to or from London for the first time to use Gatwick instead of Heathrow.

The latter policy was officially known as the "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules".

It was applied retroactively from the beginning of April 1977.

These rules were designed to achieve a fairer distribution of traffic between London Heathrow and London Gatwick, the UK's two main international gateway airports.

The policy was aimed at increasing Gatwick's utilisation to help the airport make a profit.

Another pro-active measure the Government took to aid Gatwick's development at the time was to grant permission for a high-frequency helicopter shuttle service linking both of London's main airports.

* 9 June 1978: BCal, British Airways Helicopters and the BAA jointly inaugurated the new helicopter shuttle service linking London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

* August 1980: BCal launched the UK's first private scheduled air service to Hong Kong (via Dubai).

* 1982: BCal started to operate a small fleet of Boeing 747�200s at Gatwick.

* 1983: As passenger numbers grew, a circular satellite pier was added to the terminal building, connected to the main terminal by the UK's first automated people mover system (now replaced with a walkway and travelators).

Construction began on the North Terminal, which was the largest construction project south of London in the 1980s.

It cost �200 million.

* 1984: The new air traffic control tower opened.

The non-stop Gatwick Express rail service to London Victoria station was launched.

There was a need for more capacity and a second terminal was planned.

* July 1985: A British Airways Concorde operated the type's first-ever commercial flight from Gatwick.

* Year ending April 1987: Gatwick overtook New York JFK as the world's second-busiest international airport, handling 15.

86 million international passengers - 100,000 more than JFK.

* 18 March 1988: Queen Elizabeth II opened the North Terminal.

* End of the 1989/90 financial year: Scheduled passengers outnumbered holidaymakers travelling on non-scheduled services for the first time in Gatwick's post-war history.

The latter had accounted for more than half the airport's passengers during the 1970s and most of the 1980s.

* 1991: The North Terminal was expanded with a second aircraft pier.

* 1991�1992: Dan-Air replaced Air Europe as Gatwick's principal short-haul scheduled operator following the latter's demise at the beginning of that period.

Dan-Air and Air Europe had played an important role in the development of Gatwick and its short-haul scheduled route network.

* 1994: The North Terminal international departures lounge and phase 1 of the South Terminal international departures lounge opened.

Both developments cost �30 million.

The North Terminal has an area of 75,000m2.

Gatwick's two terminals are connected by an automated rapid track transit system.

* 1998: Fourth extension of Gatwick's runway to 10,879 ft (3,316 m) to enable longer-range operations with fully-laden widebody aircraft.

* 2000 and 2001: Gatwick's two terminals were further expanded to add more seating, retail space and catering outlets, at a total cost of �60 million.

This included an extension to the North Terminal departure lounge completed in 2001.

* 2005: A �110 million additional aircraft pier (Pier 6) opened, adding an extra 11 pier-served aircraft stands.

Linked by the world's largest air passenger bridge to the North Terminal's main building, it spans a taxiway, giving arriving and departing passengers views of the airport and taxiing aircraft.

The same year, an extension and refurbishment to the South Terminal's baggage reclaim hall was completed, doubling it in size.

* May 2008: Another extension was completed to the South Terminal departure lounge.

In addition, a second-floor security search area opened.

The South Terminal now covers an area of 120,000m2.

The terminal is mainly used by low-cost airlines.

Many former users have moved to the newer North Terminal.

* 12 October 2009: Qatar Airways's daily QR076 Gatwick-Doha scheduled service became the first commercial flight powered by fuel made from natural gas.

The Airbus A340-600HGW operating the six-hour flight ran on a 50-50 blend of synthetic gas-to-liquids (GTL) and conventional oil-based kerosene developed by Shell instead of traditional, purely oil-based aviation turbine fuel.

* 3 December 2009: The transfer of Gatwick's ownership from BAA Limited to Global Infrastructure Partners became effective.

Following the sale of the airport to GIP, Gatwick's new owners announced their intention to proceed with a previously agreed �1 billion investment programme to upgrade and expand the airport's existing infrastructure to transform the passenger experience.

It is hoped that this will firmly establish Gatwick as the airport of choice for air travellers whose journey begins and/or ends in London and other parts of South East England.

According to Virgin Atlantic communications director Paul Charles, the prospect of offering much better facilities to Gatwick's airlines and passengers as a result of the change in ownership presents a long-term opportunity to leapfrog Heathrow in terms of airport infrastructure and passenger amenities.

It is expected that GIP will use its relationships to persuade new and existing airlines to consider launching additional routes from Gatwick, reinstating services suspended as a result of the global recession in the wake of the financial crisis that began in 2007 and Open Skies and/or expanding their existing flying programme from the airport in the near future.

* February 2010: It was reported that GIP sold minority stakes of 12% and 15% to South Korean National Pension Service and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), for �100 million and �125 million, respectively.

These were sold in Gatwick's - rather than GIP's - name.

The sale of these stakes is part of GIP's strategy to syndicate the equity portion of the original acquisition by issuing bonds to refinance bank debt.

Although this entails bringing in additional investors in the airport, GIP aims to retain management control.

* 18 June 2010: It was announced that Californian state pension fund CalPERS had spent approximately US$155 million (�105 million) on acquiring a 12.

7% stake in Gatwick Airport from GIP, marking the US$200 billion fund's first direct infrastructure investment.

* 22 June 2010: Gatwick Airport Limited launched a new competitive brand featuring the tagline "YOUR LONDON AIRPORT � Gatwick" alongside a rename from "London Gatwick Airport" to "Gatwick Airport".

Created by advertising agency Lewis Moberly, the new blue-and-white corporate identity is intended as a challenger brand to BAA and aims to differentiate Gatwick from rival Heathrow in support of majority owner GIP's corporate goal to establish Gatwick as London's airport of choice for passengers and airlines.

* 16 November 2010: Gatwick Airport Limited announced the appointment of Guy Stephenson as its new commercial director, with responsibility for the airport's airline route development and car parking strategies.

* 21 December 2010: The Financial Times reported that the A$69 billion (�44 billion) Future Fund, a sovereign wealth fund set up by the Australian government in 2006, intended to buy a 17% stake in Gatwick Airport from GIP for �145 million.

This transaction will complete GIP's equity syndication process for Gatwick.

Although this will reduce GIP's stake to 42%, the private equity firm's extra voting rights will enable it to retain control of the airport's board.

Gatwick handled 186,172 passengers during its first seven months of operation following the 1956-58 reconstruction.

By 1959, the number of passengers passing through the airport each year had grown to 368,000.

In 1968, annual passenger numbers at Gatwick hit the two million mark for the first time.

By the early 1970s, five million passengers used Gatwick each year.

Within a decade, this figure doubled to ten million.

It doubled again to over 20 million by the late 1980s.

By the turn of the millennium, Gatwick handled more than 30 million passengers annually.

Number of Passengers[nb 4] Percentage Change Number of Movements[nb 5] Freight (tonnes).

2000 32,068,540 � 260,859 318,905.

2001 31,181,770 decrease02.

8% 252,543 280,098.

2002 29,627,420 decrease05.

0% 242,379 242,519.

2003 30,005,260 increase01.

3% 242,731 222,916.

2004 31,466,770 increase04.

9% 251,195 218,204.

2005 32,775,695 increase04.

2% 261,292 222,778.

2006 34,163,579 increase04.

2% 263,363 211,857.

2007 35,216,113 increase03.

1% 266,550 171,078.

2008 34,205,887 decrease02.

9% 263,653 107,702.

2009 32,392,520 decrease05.

3% 251,879 74,680.

2010 31,375,290 decrease03.

1% 240,500 104,032.

Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority.

Passenger numbers peaked in 2007 when the airport handled over 35 million for the first time.

However, this total had reduced to 31 million by 2010, a 3% reduction on 2009's 32 million.

The airport recorded 240,500 aircraft movements during 2010, 4% less than in 2009 and the lowest total in eleven years.

The steepest decline in passenger traffic during 2010 related to Irish and North Atlantic traffic, both of which showed double-digit declines of 14 and 13% on 2009.

European scheduled and charter as well as UK traffic showed smaller, single-digit annual declines .

On the other hand, other long-haul traffic constituted the only passenger traffic component to record an annual increase of 3% to 4 million, while air freight was the only overall traffic component to record a double-digit annual increase of 39% to 104,143 metric tonnes.

However, this was less than a third of the total amount of freight the airport handled a decade earlier.

July 2011 saw a further increase in Gatwick's passenger numbers � the seventh consecutive monthly gain for the year - and air transport movements.

Compared with July 2010, the total number of passengers passing through the airport rose by 6%.

Other long-haul was the only passenger traffic component to show a double-digit decline of 10% to 360,100 passengers.

European charter traffic saw a smaller, single-digit reduction of 3% to 667,700 passengers.

All other passenger traffic components recorded increases.

Amongst these, European scheduled traffic saw a double-digit increase of 14% to 2 million passengers while UK, Irish and North Atlantic traffic registered smaller, single-digit gains of 5, 4 and 4% to 359,100, 130,800 and 216,200 passengers respectively.

Air transport movements grew by 2% to 23,938.

Average monthly passenger load factors rose by 2% to 86%, a July record high.

The double-digit growth in European scheduled traffic and the rise in air transport movements were the result of increased low-cost carrier activity in short-haul markets compared with the same period the year before.

In contrast to the growth in passenger traffic and air transport movements, cargo volume recorded another steep, double-digit decline of 24% to 7,260 metric tonnes.

Busiest routes to and from Gatwick Airport (2010) Rank↓ Airport↓ Passengers handled↓ % Change 2009 / 10↓.

1 Flag of Spain.

svg Malaga 909,237 decrease 18.

2 Flag of Ireland.

svg Dublin 842,093 decrease 20.

3 United States Orlando International 676,265 decrease 8.

4 Flag of Spain.

svg Alicante 672,228 decrease 13.

5 Flag of Portugal.

svg Faro 669,007 decrease 17.

6 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.

svg Dubai 629,810 increase 10.

7 Flag of Switzerland.

svg Geneva 624,130 decrease 3.

8 Flag of United Kingdom.

svg Edinburgh 604,073 decrease 6.

9 Flag of Spain.

svg Madrid 602,267 decrease 5.

10 Flag of Egypt.

svg Sharm el-Sheikh 579,268 decrease 5.

11 Flag of Turkey.

svg Dalaman 572,882 decrease 1.

12 Flag of Netherlands.

svg Amsterdam 548,352 increase 1.

13 Flag of Spain.

svg Tenerife South 535,685 increase 1.

14 Flag of Jersey.

svg Jersey 534,303 decrease 3.

15 Flag of Spain.

svg Palma de Mallorca 503,286 decrease 12.

16 Flag of United Kingdom.

svg Glasgow International 488,774 decrease 5.

17 Flag of Barbados.

svg Bridgetown 429,262 decrease 5.

18 Flag of Italy.

svg Venice Marco Polo 422,295 decrease 4.

19 Flag of Italy.

svg Rome Fiumicino 376,745 decrease 12.

20 Flag of Spain.

svg Barcelona 375,944 decrease 18.

South Terminal zone A check-in concourse.

Gatwick Airport has two terminals, North and South.

Both have shops and restaurants, landside and airside.

Disabled passengers can travel through all areas.

There are facilities for baby changing and feeding, and play areas and video games for children.

Business travellers have lounges offering business facilities.

On 31 May 2008, Virgin Holidays opened V Room, Gatwick's first dedicated lounge for leisure travellers.

Use of this lounge is exclusive to Virgin Holidays customers flying from the airport to Orlando, Las Vegas and the Caribbean with sister airline Virgin Atlantic.

On 9 April 2009, a new independent pay-for-access lounge called No 1 Traveller opened in the South Terminal.

It also serves US Airways Envoy passengers.

There is also a conference and business centre.

Furthermore, the airport has several on- and off-site hotels.

These range from executive to a capsule hotel.

The airport has Anglican, Catholic and Free Church Chaplains.

In addition, there is a multi-faith prayer room and counselling room in each terminal.

A daily service is led by one of the chaplains.

The prayer room is open to all faiths.

The Civil Aviation Authority Safety Regulation Group is in Aviation House.

WesternGeco, a geophysical services company, has its head office and its Europe/African offices in the Schlumberger House, a 124,000-square-foot (11,500 m2) building on the grounds of Gatwick Airport, near the south terminal.

WesternGeco had a 15-year lease on the building which was scheduled to expire in June 2008.

In 2007, WesternGeco reached an agreement with its landlord, BAA Lynton, and extended its lease at Schlumberger House until 2016.

Its initial rent was �2 million.

In 1968, British United Airways relocated its head office to Gatwick from Portland House in London.

After Caledonian Airways acquired British United Airways, the resulting airline, British Caledonian, had its head office at Gatwick.

When CityFlyer Express operated, the airline's head office was in the Iain Stewart Centre.

When Laker Airways operated, they had their head offices on the airport property.

Gatwick Airport has an office complex on the airport property, called City Place Gatwick.

The complex includes four buildings: The Beehive, a former terminal building; the BT building, 2 City Place, and 3 City Place.

City Place was developed by BAA Lynton.

BT Wholesale and BDO International currently occupy offices in the complex.

Companies that once had their head offices in buildings in the complex include GB Airways and CP Ships.

In 2010, EasyJet, British Airways (BA), Thomson Airways, Monarch Airlines and Thomas Cook Airlines were Gatwick's five biggest airlines, in terms of passengers carried.

Amongst these, BA and EasyJet were its two dominant resident airlines.

In late 2007, BA and easyJet accounted for 25% and 17% of Gatwick's slots.

The latter's share of slots subsequently rose to 24% as a result of its takeover of BA franchise carrier GB Airways, which accounted for 7% of slots (late 2007).

The acquisition of GB Airways in March 2008 resulted in easyJet becoming Gatwick's biggest short-haul operator accounting for 29% of short-haul passengers (ahead of BA's 23%) and Gatwick's largest airline overall, with flights to 62 domestic and European destinations (at April 2008).

By summer 2011, EasyJet had further reinforced its position as Gatwick's leading airline by increasing the number of destinations served from the airport to 92, using a fleet of 46 aircraft.

Gatwick is the airline's largest base, where its 11 million passengers per annum account for 35% of the airport's yearly total.

On 30 March 2008, airlines began down-sizing transatlantic operations due to the new EU-US Open Skies Agreement.

Continental Airlines is the second transatlantic carrier - after American Airlines - to pull out of Gatwick altogether, following its decision to transfer the seasonal Cleveland service to Heathrow from 3 May 2009.

The slots vacated by these moves as well as by the collapse of Zoom, XL Airways UK and Sterling were taken by EasyJet, Flybe, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Ryanair.

By late 2008, easyJet's share of Gatwick slots had grown to about 26%, while Flybe had become Gatwick's third-largest slot-holder accounting for 9% of the airport's slots, as well as its fastest-growing airline.

The latter airline has also become Gatwick's largest domestic operator, whose eight routes serving the airport from other destinations in the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man carried 1 million passengers in its 2010/11 financial year.

From a peak of 40% in 2001, BA's share of Gatwick slots declined by 50% to 20% by summer 2009.

South Terminal zone K check-in concourse.

According to the evidence Flybe submitted at a Competition Commission hearing into BAA Limited's market dominance at the beginning of 2008, Gatwick's dynamics were changing rapidly as a result of recent changes in its traffic pattern.

These were likely to transform the airport from a secondary intercontinental airline hub into a predominantly European and domestic operation feeding London and specifically the south London market.

Gatwick operates as a single runway airport.

Strictly speaking it has two runways; however, the northern runway (08L/26R) can only be used when the main runway (08R/26L) is out of use, for example because of maintenance or an accident.

The runways cannot be used at the same time because there is not enough separation between them, and during normal operation the northern runway is used as a taxiway.

It can take 15 minutes to change from one runway to the other.

The main runway operates with a Category III Instrument Landing System.

The northern runway does not have an Instrument Landing System and, when it is in use,arriving aircraft use a combination of Distance Measuring Equipment and assistance from the approach controller using surveillance radar, or where equipped and subject to operator approval, an RNAV (GNSS) Approach, which is also available for the main runway.

On all runways, considerable use is made of continuous descent approach to minimise environmental effects of incoming aircraft, particularly at night.

Night flights are subject to restrictions.

Between 11 pm and 7 am the noisiest aircraft (rated QC/8 and QC/16) may not operate.

In addition, between 11:30 pm and 6 am (the night quota period) there are three limits.

* An overall limit on the number of flights.

* A Quota Count system which limits the total of noise permitted, but allows operators to choose to operate fewer noisy aircraft or a greater number of quieter planes.

* QC/4 aircraft may not operate at night.

The airport is policed by the Gatwick District of Sussex Police.

The district is responsible for policing the whole airport, including aircraft, and in certain circumstances, aircraft in flight.

The 150 officers attached to this district include armed and unarmed officers, and community support officers for minor offences.

The airport district counter man-portable surface-to-air missiles (MANPADS) by patrolling in and around the airport.

A separate sub-unit has vehicle checks around the airport.

Brook House, an immigration removal centre of the UK Border Agency was opened on 18 March 2009 by the then Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith.

The airport is one of three UK airports to feature body scanners; initially, they are located only in the North Terminal.

Gatwick has set the objective that 40% of passengers should be using public transport by the time the annual throughput reaches 40 million (estimated in 2015), from the 2006 figure of 35%.

The airport is accessed by a motorway spur road at junction 9A of the M23, which links to the main M23 motorway 1 mi east at junction 9.

The M23 connects with London's orbital motorway, the M25, 9 mi (14 km) north.

This gives access to much of Greater London, the South East and beyond.

The M23 is the main route for traffic to the airport.

Gatwick can also be accessed by the A23, which serves Horley and Redhill to the north and Crawley and Brighton to the south.

The A217 provides access northwards to the local town of Reigate.

The airport has long and short-stay car parks � at the airport and off-site � although these are often full in summer.

Local planning restrictions limit car parking at and around Gatwick.

The Gatwick Airport railway station is next to South Terminal and provides connections along the Brighton Main Line to London Victoria and London Bridge stations, as well as Brighton and Worthing to the south.

The Gatwick Express to Victoria, operated by Southern, is the best-known service from the station, but other companies, including First Capital Connect and First Great Western, use the station as well, and Southern provides services to Victoria and London Bridge under its own brand.

First Capital Connect provide direct trains to Luton Airport and First Great Western trains provide a direct rail link with Reading and connections with Oxford and the West.

Foot passengers can reach Heathrow by a X26 Express Bus from outside East Croydon station.

National Express Coaches operates coaches to Heathrow Airport and Stansted Airport, as well as cities and towns throughout the region and country.

Oxford Bus Company operate direct services to Oxford.

EasyBus operates minicoaches from both terminals to Earls Court/West Brompton.

(National Express Dot2Dot used to operate a service to central London, but this ceased in 2008.

) Local buses connect North and South terminals with Crawley, Horley, Redhill, Horsham, Caterham and other destinations.

Services are offered by Metrobus and Fastway, a guided bus rapid transit system which was the first of its kind to be constructed outside a major city.

There are at least two sets of stairs for foot-passengers to leave South Terminal to ground-level (near the cycle route) from Zone L and the train-station area (steps are labelled Exit Q and Exit P on the ground).

These allow access to bus stops for local services.

Route 21 of the National Cycle Network passes under South Terminal, allowing virtually traffic-free cycling northwards to Horley and southwards to Three Bridges and Crawley.

A goods-style lift runs between the terminal and ground level (signed "Lift to Cycle Route"), near Zone L.

Gatwick Airport's North and South terminals are connected by a 1 mi elevated two-way automated people mover track.

The shuttle system is normally operated by two automatic, three-car driverless train vehicles.

Although colloquially referred to widely as a "monorail", the shuttle system runs on a dual concrete track with rubber tyres and is not technically a monorail.

The original Gatwick transit system opened in 1983 when the circular satellite pier was built, connecting the pier to the main terminal building, and was the UK's first automated people mover system.

A second transit track was constructed in 1987 to link to the new North terminal.

The original satellite transit line was later replaced with a walkway and travelator link, but the inter-terminal shuttle remains in operation.

The original Adtranz C-100 people mover cars remained in continuous operation until 2009, in which time they travelled a total of 2 million mi (4 million km).

In September 2009 the vehicles were withdrawn from service to allow the transit system to be upgraded.

Meanwhile, the two terminals were connected by a temporary free bus service.

A new operating system and shuttle cars consisting of six Bombardier CX-100 vehicles was installed and the guideway and transit stations were refurbished at a cost of �45 million.

The new system opened for use again on 1 July 2010, two months ahead of schedule.

In 1979, an agreement was reached with West Sussex County Council not to build a second runway before 2019.

In its original consultation document published on 23 July 2002 the Government decided to expand Stansted and Heathrow, but not Gatwick.

However, Medway Council, Kent County Council and Essex County Council sought a judicial review of this decision.

The judge reviewing the lawfulness of the Government's decision ruled that excluding Gatwick from the original consultation was irrational and/or unfair.

Following the judge's ruling and the Secretary of State for Transport's decision not to appeal, BAA published new consultation documents.

These included an option of a possible second runway at Gatwick to the south of the existing airport boundary, leaving the villages Charlwood and Hookwood to the north of the airport intact.

This led to protests about increased noise and pollution, demolition of houses and destruction of villages.

Prior to the change of ownership, BAA planned an �874 million investment at Gatwick over five years, including increased capacity for both terminals, improvements to the transport interchange and a new baggage system for the South Terminal.

In April 2008, Gatwick began work on a new inter-terminal shuttle which signalled the first major development in a �1 billion programme aimed at modernising the airport.

The project included the installation of a completely new shuttle system, new shuttle cars, refurbishment of the rubber track and transformation of the terminal stations.

The launch took place in July 2010 and attendees included James van Hofton, from the board of directors.

The shuttle cost �43 million and features included live journey information and the use of sensory technology to count the number of passengers at stations.

On 2 December 2009, the House of Commons Transport Select Committee published a report entitled The future of aviation.

With regard to Gatwick, it calls on the Government to reconsider its decision to build a second runway at Stansted, in the light of growing evidence that the business case is unconvincing and that Gatwick is a better location.

Passengers passing through the airport are being made aware of the redevelopment programme in a number of different ways, including through the use of giant mobile barcodes on top of construction hoardings.

Scanning these results in content about the construction work being transferred to the user's smartphone.

Several options to expand Gatwick have been considered, including a third terminal and a second runway to the south of the existing runway.

This would allow Gatwick to handle more passengers than Heathrow does today.

If a second, wide-spaced (as opposed to close parallel) runway is approved, a new terminal could be sited between the two runways.

This could either complement or replace the current South Terminal, depending on expected future traffic developments.

A less ambitious alternative would extend the North Terminal further south, with another passenger bridge to an area currently occupied by aircraft stands without jet bridges (Pier 7).

There are also plans to expand the capacity of the North Terminal and to extend Pier 6.

In October 2009, BAA submitted planning applications for Gatwick to handle an extra six million passengers a year by 2018 and for an extension to the North Terminal to provide new check-in facilities and additional baggage reclaim hall capacity, along with a 900 space short-stay car park.

Crawley Borough Council's decision to approve these plans was upheld in November 2009 by the Government's refusal to hold a public inquiry despite objections from local environmental protesters.

Speaking at the first Gatwick Airport Consultative Committee (Gatcom) meeting since GIP's takeover of the airport (held on 28 January 2010 at Crawley's Arora Hotel), Gatwick's chairman Sir David Rowlands ruled out building a second runway for the foreseeable future, citing the high cost of the associated planning application - estimated to be between �100 million and �200 million-� as the main reason for the new owners' lack of interest.

At that meeting, Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate stressed GIP's preference for increasing the existing runway's capacity and confirmed GIP's plans to request an increase in the current limit on the permitted number of take-offs and landings.

In October 2010, Gatwick Airport Limited received planning permission from Crawley Borough Council to adapt both terminals to handle the Airbus A380 on a regular, commercial basis.

In late 2011 the Department for Transport began studying the feasibility of a high-speed rail link between Gatwick and Heathrow Airport.

This rail link would form part of a plan to combine the UK's two biggest airports into a "collective" or "virtual hub" dubbed Heathwick.

The scheme envisages a 35-mile high-speed rail route linking the two airports in 15 minutes, with trains travelling at a top speed of 180 mph parallel to the M25 and passengers passing through immigration or check-in only once.

* 15 September 1936 � a British Airways Ltd de Havilland DH 86 operating a night mail flight to Germany crashed on takeoff, killing the airline's chief pilot and two members of the aircraft's crew.

* November 1936 � a British Airways Ltd Fokker F 12 crashed in a wood 4 mi south of Gatwick whilst executing its final approach to the airport under a low ceiling in poor visibility, killing both pilots and severely injuring the engineer.

* 17 February 1959 � a Turkish Airlines Vickers Viscount 794D (registration: TC-SEV) on an international charter flight crashed in heavy fog at Newdigate, Surrey, whilst approaching to land at Gatwick.

The plane hit some trees.

Fourteen of 24 on board died.

Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes was amongst the survivors.

* 2 September 1963 � an Iberia Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation (registration: EC-AMQ) leased by Aviaco and operating a charter flight from Barcelona, Spain, brushed trees on Russ Hill while on final approach to London Gatwick.

Although the aircraft sustained minor damage as a result of this incident, which occurred during the descent, ca.

220 ft (67 m) above and 3 km from the runway threshold, it landed safely and none of the 75 passengers on board were injured.

* 5 January 1969 � a Boeing 727-113C (registration: YA-FAR) operating flight 701 of Ariana Afghan Airlines arriving from Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport, Germany, crashed into a house in Fernhill near Horley, Surrey, in low visibility.

The flaps were not extended to maintain flight at final approach speed.

Forty-eight of the 62 on board died as well as two on the ground.

* 28 January 1972 � a British Caledonian Vickers VC10-1109 (registration: G-ARTA) sustained severe structural damage as a result of an exceptionally hard landing at Gatwick at the end of a short ferry flight from Heathrow, where the aircraft had been diverted due to Gatwick being fog-bound and where all passengers had disembarked.

A survey of the aircraft's damage revealed that its airframe had been bent out of shape and that it required extensive repairs to be restored to an airworthy condition.

The airline's senior management decided that these repairs were not cost-effective.

The aircraft was written off and a decision taken to have it scrapped.

It was eventually broken up at Gatwick in 1975.

* 20 July 1975 � a British Island Airways (BIA) Handley Page Dart Herald 201 (registration: G-APWF) was involved in a runway accident while departing on a scheduled flight to Guernsey.

The aircraft lifted off from runway 26 after a ground run of 2,490 ft (760 m) and appeared airborne for 411 ft (125 m) with its landing gear retracting before the rear underside of the fuselage settled back on to the runway.

None of the 45 occupants were hurt.

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Last Updated: 2012/05/11