Zero emission Fuel Cell Electric bus service launched at Gatwick

A prototype fuel cell electric double-deck bus was shown in public for the first time at Gatwick's Annual Transport Forum on Friday 12th October.

In a first for the region, the new technology will soon trailed with an in-service trial of the bus run by local service provider Metrobus on the company's Fastway 100 service between Crawley, Gatwick Airport and Reigate. 

Metrobus expects to follow this with an order for 20 single deck fuel cell electric buses to expand provision of zero emission journeys and improve local air quality.

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Up in the air . . .

IN a UK airport first, passengers, staff and local residents can now reserve and pick up a 100% electric car at Gatwick – and return it to any of 300 compatible pick up/ drop off points across London or back at Gatwick - the airport announced today.

Operating in a similar way to existing cycle schemes across the capital, ten cars and charging points are currently available on Gatwick’s South Terminal forecourt. This is Bluecity’s first airport hub and discussions are in progress to increase capacity.

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App awards for Gatwick

GATWICK'S new passenger app has won Mobile Innovation of the Year at the National Technology awards and also picked up Mobile App of the Year at the Real IT awards.  The airport also won Cloud Project of the Year at the Real IT awards after becoming the world’s first major airport to introduce a cloud-based Flight Information System (FIDS).

Under the slogan App App and Away, Gatwick’s first passenger app launched at the start of the year and provides personalised, real-time flight updates, gate information and check-in and security queue times straight to your phone.

The new app means that holidaymakers and business travellers can enjoy a more seamless experience when travelling through Gatwick as it boasts a range of features including intuitive maps that guide passengers through the airport using 2,000 navigation beacons located throughout terminal buildings

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Automated self-boarding technology to trial at Gatwick

GATWICK Airport has today announced the UK’s first trial of end-to-end biometrics – where personal data collected at the airport’s self-service bag drops will be recognised by new automated self-boarding gates - simplifying and speeding up the process for passengers and reducing the risk of human error.

The trial is being run in partnership with easyJet - Gatwick’s biggest airline - and the new self-boarding technology will identify each passenger and verify that their passport, face and boarding card all match – a process which takes less than 20 seconds.

The trial will be the first and most extensive of its kind in the UK and will run for at least three months so that around 10,000 passengers take part on the 43 Gatwick routes. 

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A first time winner

THE first British Airways Run Gatwick took place on Sunday May 13, with more than 3600 runners putting themselves through their paces on routes through the Sussex countryside and around Gatwick Airport. 

The race, which incorporated an international half marathon, a corporate 5K and a family run attracted runners of all ages and abilities, with elite, club and amateur runners from the UK and abroad as well as a number of British Airways employees. 

 It was the first time British Airways has sponsored a UK race, and participants were treated to a first-class race experience with flight themed medals, British Airways ambassadors on hand and a British Airways base camp and fan zones.

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Norwegian Airlines: first budget flight to Buenos Aires

IN February 2018, Norwegian Airlines launched the first low cost flight from London Gatwick to Pistarini airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

With return flights costing under £600, the new flight will open up Latin America to a more diverse market, making the destination more accessible to a wider demographic and stimulating further growth to the region.

www.norwegian.com

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Gatwick to be first airport in the world to trial autonomous vehicles

GATWICK'S 300 airside vehicles are stationary 90% of the time – as staff attend to aircraft and passengers – however a trial of electric-powered autonomous vehicles will soon see workers shuttled between popular locations on the airfield when it starts later this summer, the airport has announced.

The trial is thought to be the first of its kind for any airport in the world and - if successful and scaled up – could lead to airfield transport needs being met from a much smaller pool of autonomous vehicles, reducing the need for such large vehicle fleets, reducing emissions and saving on costs.

If the technology is proven in an airfield environment and following further trials, this project may be the precursor to a wide range of other autonomous vehicles being used on airport, including aircraft push back tugs, passenger load bridges, baggage tugs and transportation buses.

No passengers or aircraft will be involved in this trial, which will be limited to airside roads between the airport’s North and South terminals.

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On the runway . . .

LONDON Gatwick last month experienced the busiest January in its history, with 2.8 million passengers travelling through – an increase of 1.4% year-on-year.

As thousands of Brits travelled Stateside for a January escape, US routes saw the biggest percentage increase in passenger numbers. Fort Lauderdale was the North American destination with the highest passenger growth rate and New York and Boston also saw significant year-on-year growth.

It wasn’t just Gatwick’s thriving American routes that pushed its long-haul growth figure to 16.8% in January; the airport’s Asia routes soared too, with Hong Kong +42.4% year-on-year.

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Appy to fly from Gatwick

GATWICK'S new app – one of several passenger-facing digital innovations coming on stream soon - offers passengers personalised flight alerts, real-time queue updates for check-in and security, intuitive navigation using beacon technology and shopping, restaurant and airport offers.

The new app means that holidaymakers and business travellers can enjoy a more seamless experience when travelling through Gatwick as it boasts a range of features including:

• Personalised flight information – real-time updates onflight status and gate information straight to your mobile.
• Real-time queue updates – for check-in and security to plan your time at the airport.
• Intuitive maps - guiding passengers through the airport using 2,000 navigation beacons located throughout terminal buildings.
• Shopping and eating offers – specific to your terminal and instantly redeemable from your phone.

Personalised flight information pushed to your phone includes boarding status and gate access, which means passengers can enjoy their time at the airport without having to hunt for flight information screens.

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Thameslink trains now three times longer at Brighton, Gatwick and London Bridge

PASSENGERS travelling between London Bridge, Gatwick Airport and Brighton now have brand new Thameslink trains that are up to three times longer giving more space and more seats.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has withdrawn the last of its older trains from this off-peak service, replacing them with cutting-edge Siemens Class 700 carriages.

The 12-carriage trains replace the mostly four-carriage (weekdays) and eight-carriage (Saturdays) twice-hourly service, creating 9,000 extra seats each weekday and much more space for passengers at Gatwick and families heading for the coast.

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Take a sabbatical

AS millennials face up to the idea of a career ultramarathon stretching into their 70s and beyond, research from Gatwick Airport has revealed that more people than ever are seeking ways in which to take their foot off the accelerator and re-charge their batteries; with those in engineering (44%), finance (28%) and hospitality (27%) most likely to need to take a career break.

With an increasing number of Britain’s ‘Gen Y’ professionals taking early career sabbaticals to travel across the globe, more than a quarter (26 per cent) of career breakers said they didn’t like the idea of working continuously until they retired, while the same number said they needed to get away because of the stress of work.

The increasing flexibility of modern attitudes to work, coupled with the perceived stresses of building a career mean that millennials are six times more likely to take mid-career breaks than previous generations.

Almost two thirds (60%) of 25-39 year olds said they either have taken or will take an extended break from work before they turn 40. This compares to only 9% of previous generations (those over 40) who opted to do so.

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On the runway . . .

JAMIE Oliver has visited Gatwick Airport to unveil his new flagship restaurant, The Diner, a homage to great American comfort food, serving up honest home-cooked dishes in a relaxed and vibrant setting.

The Diner is home to three distinct areas, a diner restaurant section serving food in a rustic way, on big trays or in baskets, making it perfect for sharing, an art-deco inspired bar plus also a ‘grab and go’ deli.

At 627 m2 the new arrival is one of the largest restaurants at Gatwick serving 278 covers.

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Relax before you fly with Virgin Holidays at Gatwick Airport

WHETHER you’re a honeymooner off to the Caribbean or taking the kids away to Orlando, the v-room truly caters for everyone, all with a premium design ethos, yet retaining a lot of family-friendly quirks. Covering more than 7,200 square feet and available exclusively for Virgin Holidays’ customers, the new space creates a calming atmosphere away from the hectic airport terminal through its pastel tones, sumptuous relaxation areas and extensive menus. Here, visitors can sip a specialty cocktail, enjoy a hearty breakfast and even try their hand on one of the lounges many interactive games. Split into a number of distinct sections, the v-room includes:

Innovate: Practice your driving skills in the Forza racing car sled, take part in a kids vs adults game of table football or Xbox Kinect games and even take the first of your holiday selfies in the dedicated booth, all with your chosen destination super imposed on the background.

Toddler Time: Created specifically for the under-fives, this immersive space really focuses on the needs of the youngest travelers. There’s a variety of touch screen games, with a soft play area and slide, an arts & crafts table and TVs screening child friendly content, to ensure the little ones are kept fully immersed during their airport experience.

Try before you fly!: Inspired by some of the most tropical destinations, cabana daybeds will make you feel like you’ve already arrived on holiday. The space is designed strictly with older guests in mind, who can relax in style with a cocktail and a magazine, before they even hit the beach.

Guests can also enjoy an al-a-carte hot food menu, along with an extensive continental buffet offering. Other finishing touches include a gourmet coffee shop, Cup Cup and Away, and a pancake machine that offers a variety of personalised toppings.

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Norwegian to give free long-haul flights and upgrades to frequent fliers in 2018

LOW-cost airline Norwegian’s loyalty programme Norwegian Reward is now giving its most frequent flying members in 2017 a free return flight or upgrade to its Premium cabin on any long-haul route for travel in 2018.

Norwegian Reward is a free-to-join loyalty scheme which gives members the chance to earn rewards and CashPoints which can lead to discounted and free Norwegian flights.

Norwegian Reward members who fly at least 20 round trips (40 one way flights) and have at least 3000 CashPoints earned on flight tickets by 31 December 2017 will receive a free return flight to any one of Norwegian’s 13 long-haul destinations from Gatwick.  Flights are redeemable in January 2018 with a valid travel period throughout the entire year of 2018.*

The loyalty programme is also offering members who fly at least 10 round trips (20 one way flights) on flexible tickets in 2017 a free upgrade to Premium on any long-haul route.

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Up in the air . . .

NORWEGIAN first launched transatlantic flights from Gatwick Airport to three U.S destinations in July 2014, with the aviation industry divided on whether the ‘low-cost long-haul’ venture would succeed.

Two years later, and Norwegian’s long-haul operation is already profitable and now plays a key role in the airline’s continued passenger growth. Norwegian is still the only airline offering UK passengers direct low-cost transatlantic travel - the airline’s long-haul network from the UK has now grown to 8 US destinations with over 650,000 UK passengers and more than 800,000 flights on sale this year.

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London Gatwick’s only direct flights to Seattle and Denver

NORWEGIAN is continuing its transatlantic expansion by launching two new routes from London Gatwick to Seattle and Denver on sale now from £199 at www.norwegian.com/uk

More than 125,000 seats are available on Norwegian’s first route to America’s Pacific Northwest and the only route from Gatwick to Denver. With affordable fares and convenient schedules, Norwegian will give cost-conscious business and leisure travellers more affordable choices for #travel to the #USA.

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On the runway . . .

GATWICK Airport achieved an impressive 3.0 million passengers travelling through the airport this February, +9.9% on 2016.

Long-haul routes continue their booming growth at Gatwick, +20.3% on February 2016 and driving a +6.0% cargo increase, – once again demonstrating Gatwick’s key role connecting Britain to important growth markets when these links have never been more crucial.

Dubai was the airport’s most popular long-haul destination in the month with 76,965 passengers visiting and +8% on February 2016. Other destinations also likely benefiting from the Valentine’s effect included St Lucia +52%, New York +66% and Paris +77%.

Los Angeles was +90%, on the same time last year, with Gatwick passengers to shortly have even more options for travel to America’s West Coast as British Airways start their new route to Oakland, San Francisco, this March.

Skiing destinations performed well in February with Geneva Gatwick’s most popular European destination in the month with 109,500 passengers visiting, +5% on February 2016. This was joined by Innsbrook +9% and Genoble +8% on the same month last year.

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On the runway . . .

GATWICK Airport has had a record November with millions more passengers travelling through the airport annually as further connections to Hong Kong are announced by Cathay Pacific.

• Gatwick adds 2.7m passengers to its annual passenger total

• Record 2.8 million passengers travelled through the airport in November, +7.3% on the same month last year

• Long-haul growth rockets +20% and cargo +12%

• Cathay Pacific announces that current four-times-weekly Hong Kong service will go daily from June 2017

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Connection to China

NEW connections from Gatwick to key markets in the Far East were revealed. Tianjin Airlines has announced a new connection to Xi’an home of, UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Terracotta Army - providing the UK’s only direct route to the city.

The airline will also be increasing its existing Tianjin and Chongqing services from Gatwick to three services a week, plus providing a direct onward connection to Auckland, New Zealand, via Chongqing.

Gatwick’s growth has seen the airport chart among top five fastest growing airports in Europe, as announced this week by the Airport Council International.

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Gatwick Airport top with recycling

#GATWICK, in partnership with DHL, is set to become the first airport in the World able to dispose of Category 1* waste on site – an issue that costs the global aviation sector around £500 million a year – and convert it into energy.

From November Gatwick’s new £3.8million processing plant will not only dispose of the waste safely on site, it will also convert it - and all other organic waste - into energy to power the new plant and heat the North Terminal, enabling the Airport to hit an 85% recycling rate – the best of any UK airport.


*Category 1 forms the majority of waste from non-EU flights and is defined as food waste or anything mixed with it – such as packaging, cups, meal trays - from international transport vehicles.

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