We flew with Virgin back in September and the flight was going from Gatwick. We live in London so it was pretty easy for us to get the tube to Victoria and then the Gatwick Express which took us to the South Terminal which was luckily where we needed to check in.


Check in was fast, although that was more due to Virgin, and we headed through to security. The queuing system here is a little bit cramped and not very well supervised, but the line moved fairly quickly and after about 20 or 30 minutes we were done and headed through to Departures. The area is placed over two floors and has a range of shops including Boots, WH Smiths, All Saints and Duty Free. There are also places to eat that vary from quick snacks to sit-down meals. We picked TGI Fridays for a cooked breakfast with a view of the Virgin planes.


The departures area was fairly clean if a little small to accommodate all the passengers. It would have been helpful to have a bit more seating and some bigger boards to list the gates and take off times. People tended to stand right in front of these boards and so they could be difficult to check because the text is fairly small - but then again, my eye sight isn't fantastic!


All in all, I don't think the departures area is all that bad. However, on arriving back into the UK, I was amazed! We had to queue up to get our passports checked, as expected but after that we were free to leave, absolutely no security at all!! We also waited a good 30 minutes for our bags to come through which isn't what you want a 6.30am after an 8 hour flight with no sleep!


Finding the Gatwick Express was easy and well signed so no complaints there!

Gatwick is in fact my second favourite airport (after Stansted) because of very helpful staff and a brilliant range of shops and eating facilities. The airport is very clean and the transport links are very good!

I really Liked Gatwick airport. The shops and eating facilities are 10/10. The Transport links are really good but are only 8/10 because they're so busy!

Gatwick is a very good airport with lots of scheduled and charter flights. More than enough food stores and shops is very clean all around and in the toilets.

It all started when the plane landed, all the passengers had departed and I was just waiting to be taken off with the assistance promised only to be told that the vehicle needed to get me off would be an hours wait !!!!
I was then told that they have sent a vehicle to drive me to the main building, so I had to get down the steps, I have travelled through Gatwick so many times and I have never not been linked direct to the building by a satellite, anyway, I got down the steps eventually, and was driven to the base of the main building and sat down by a lift, told someone would be along shortly with a wheelchair to take to arrivals.
I waited
And
Waited
Eventually getting very stressed out I decided to try and get to the arrivals myself and then seek help, the lift was not working so I had to use the stairs and walk, well as I couldn't walk I had to limp, skip and jump my way through immigration etc, I came across 2 airport workers who couldn't help me and said that there is no-one around to help at that time of night.
I arrived in the baggage hall to find not one single trolley at the entrance, all the trolleys were at the far end of the baggage hall, yet more limping, skipping etc. I could see my bag all on its own going round and round, but I needed the trolley as support, I eventually got a trolley, then had to go back to my bag and pull off the belt, how I did it I don't know, but I did.
I went straight to Hospital when I got back and to say I was in agony is not a surprise after all the walking I had to do at your airport, its now been 5 days since I got back and my TORN LIGAMENT is now just starting to become bearable, when I told the Doctor at the hospital what happened to me at your airport he was horrified, and even hinted it may have caused more damage to my knee. I have another appointment today, and I am hoping it will be good news and not what I am dreading, ie an operation.

I'd like to say that Gatwick is a good alternative to Heathrow but due to security issues, it was simply frustrating.

Gatwick is the best connected of the London airports by far. If you live in the South East or South Central regions then this is probably the easiest airport for you to get to thanks to it having a mainline station right within the South Terminal.

ORIENTATION:
The airport is split into two terminals, North and South. South Terminal is the larger one, and holds the train station and majority of the shops, including Gatwick Village shopping arcade with practical shops such as Boots (UK pharmacy chain like Guardian) and W H Smith (general store selling books, newspapers, sandwiches, drinks etc.). This is accessible before heading through to departure's. The entrances are beyond the check-in desks. Also, there is a skytrain linking the two terminals 24/7, and the terminals are quite close together, unlike Heathrow T4, so it's perfectly possible to catch a bus or train to South, even if you fly from North. Most, if not all National Express bus services that serve the airport call at both terminals anyway.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
Crowds here at not nearly as bad at Heathrow, and by comparison the airport is relatively clean and modern, though still not up to par with most major European or East Asian airports.
However queues here are much better than at Heathrow, and generally for most flights allowing about an hour and a half at the most from arrival at the airport to getting to your departure gate is OK.

TRANSPORT:
Trains run almost 24 hours (from around 5am to around 2am). The most frequent services are to London (Victoria and Thameslink stations), Brighton and Bedford. Services however run to almost all towns in Sussex, Surrey, and to Hampshire and Kent also.

Main towns with direct train to Gatwick:
London
Brighton
Bedford
Crawley
Croydon
Worthing
Eastbourne
Lewes
Newhaven/Seaford (for ferries to Dieppe, France)
Shoreham (for Brighton City Airport)
Chichester
Bognor Regis
Havant
Portsmouth (all stations - Harbour for IOW and Gosport, Ports. & Southsea for ferries for Europe)
Southampton (for Southampton Airport)
Fareham

There is a dedicated "Gatwick Express" train that connects to London Victoria in under half an hour. However, it's not noticeably faster than some of the conventional trains, and it is a lot more expensive. Check fares at www.thetrainline.com and www.gatwickexpress.com

National Express buses have stops in both terminals, and most services uses both stops. Services to:
London (Victoria Coach Station - many services)
Brighton (twice an hour)
Heathrow Airport (hourly at least)
Stansted Airport (hourly)
Cambridge (hourly)
Oxford (regular)

Less frequent services also run to other cities and via London or Heathrow. A National Express booking counter is in South Terminal, after you pass through the exit walkway tunnels through to the bus stops. Buses run more or less 24/7. Fares generally work out about half the price of an on the spot purchased train ticket. Check times and fares at www.nationalexpress.com

AIRFARES:
Gatwick has few long haul flights (besides a handful of transatlantic flights). As such, fares for those are generally not that good, and you would almost certainly save money by flying from Heathrow, or connecting through Amsterdam, Paris or Frankfurt. However, short haul European flights are the dominant traffic, particularly low cost airlines (EasyJet has a major hub at Gatwick) and charter airlines such as Monarch, and fares for these can be had for a song. Particularly good destinations from here are Spain, Greece, Egypt and Eastern Europe, as well as the usual suspects such as Prague, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Paris etc.

FOOD AND SHOPPING:
There are a lot of shops at Gatwick, far more than Heathrow even. Most of it is practically orientated, so it's very easy to eat fairly cheaply by buying sandwiches and drinks etc. from shops such as Boots and Smiths. The bars are, as you'd expect, grossly overpriced and best avoided. UK chains such as Yates and Wetherspoon operate here, but charge vastly inflated prices compared to outside. The usual duty free is also available.

As an end note this isn't such a bad airport really. Old and tatty now, but better than Heathrow by far, and fares are good. If you get bored of the shops in South Terminal, head up the stairs by the "Sports Bar" and you will find a little seating area which overlooks the tarmac.

Once upon a time, Gatwick Airport was modern. Now it is looking very tired and dated. Most European capitals have modern airports, but at this airport there are only the shops and bland sandwich bars that are up-to-date. The arrivals/baggage collection area is antiquated and due for a makeover. The car parking is very expensive, and you should always factor this in to any air fare, as it may cost more than the flight!

As a departure airport, I have no complaints with London Gatwick; check in the simplest of any airport I've ever flown from. Easy to navigate, helpful staff etc. There is also a fantastic range of activates in the departure lounge, in both terminals.

As an arrivals airport, I feel less happy. No trolleys until you get into baggage claim; some 15 min walk from the gate sometimes, so bear this in mind if you have heavy hand luggage. Arrivals is also a 10 min walk from the car parks, so be prepared. If someone is picking you up from short stay, expect them (or you!) to pay around £5 for an hour's parking at the airport.