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LONDON GATWICK AIRPORT Passenger Reviews and Customer opinions |
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LONDON GATWICK AIRPORT review : 7 May 2008 : by Mark Evans
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
Normally I am a satisfied and frequent user of LGW, which seems less prone to BAA Disease than its
LHR big brother. The Achilles Heel though has been the shuttle link between South and North
terminals. A three-minute peak time maximum wait is promised, when both shuttle trains are in use,
otherwise one is promised a maximum six-minute wait. My previous moan has been that BAA seems fast
and loose in its interpretation of "peak". But what happens when both shuttle trains are out of use?
The answer, in short, is a mess. An almighty queue was backing up when I reached the shuttle gates
to depart on Friday evening. "Shuttle Not In Service" the board announced, but within minutes one
train at least was back in action - admittedly it was packed with stressed pax, but at least we
reached the North Terminal in tolerable time. Returning yesterday, the shuttle was entirely broken,
and buses were ferrying pax and their luggage back and forth. Presumably as the day was a public
holiday, BAA was not able to muster any more than the three vehicles (and drivers) that were
providing this emergency service - I'd hate to think was BAA was too stingy to pay for a more
adequate service. Long lines were backing up, and this at the non-peak time of early afternoon,
taking some 25-30 minutes before I could board one of the buses. The situation was within the limits
of tolerable, and pax were surprisingly well tempered in the circumstances. Then a BAA under-manager
type appeared on the scene, quite needlessly hectoring pax in an infant school teacher's voice to
move up the line and close the gaps. This was very crass psychology - she should have been
apologising in person to all and sundry. I saw two BAA suits in the distance, but they sensibly
vanished before I could remind them that if they and their Spanish overlords had cared to spend more
money on day-to-day maintenance and less on cooking up yet more "exciting retail experiences", this
predicament would never have arisen, and that public faith in BAA would not be collapsing so
spectacularly. Should BAA be broken up? Yes!
LONDON GATWICK AIRPORT review : 30 April 2008 : by Justin Edmonds
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
Why is it that BAA have a permanent ongoing make an airport look like a tip programme? Every time I
pass through one of their airports there are always ceiling tiles missing, areas sheeted over, parts
closed off etc. We flew recently from the south terminal which is rather small for the number of
flights that use it. Airside is not very attractive a few shops & very few eating places compared to
the North Terminal - unless you like burgers. As it was breakfast time there were long queues for
the two restaurants & single coffee bar. Our plane departed from the roundhouse, on arrival there it
was like a different world with empty shops & coffee bars. Had I known our plane was departing from
there I would have walked down much earlier. Something needs to be done with our airports and fast
as the sorry state of them is an embarrassment to this country.
Gatwick Airport review by N Sutherland
23 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
It's been several years since I've passed though LGW and despite the increasing security measures I
found it a significantly better experience than LHR. UK Domestic Baggage wait was reasonable in
middle of the day. Signs and screens are still a problem and not easy to navigate your way around if
you're not familiar with the airport, but there were plenty of Help Staff around which was
excellent. Check-In was good in the South Terminal, Security in the early morning was quick,
efficient, professional and polite. Good selection of shops with still enough space for people to
sit but the Departure Gate areas are showing their age.
Gatwick Airport review by G Marsh
11 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
On the outward and inward leg of our trip we were pleasantly surprised how efficient, courteous and
helpful all the staff at Gatwick North were. Immigration staff were friendly and cheerful and
welcoming, security staff although taking their jobs seriously were very kind and professional. Well
done to the staff at Gatwick for helping to make the journey through Gatwick such a pleasure.
Gatwick Airport review by W Foster
10 March 2008 Customer Rating : 
Flew outb from LGW South Terminal to Sanford, no problems with check-in, friendly and helpful
security staff, reasonable airside shops and food outlets. Returning today absolutely awful, had to
walk seemingly miles from arrival gate to immigration. Plane landed at 6.55am but apparently
baggage handlers were refusing to work overtime and it was 9am before we finally got our baggage.
BAA please get your act together.
Gatwick Airport review by Tony Bridge
5 March 2008 Customer Rating : 
Checked in for a BA flight at north terminal with minimum fuss. Staff pleasant and courteous as they
were at security and passport control. Everything seemed clean and tidy and a good range of shops
and bars/restaurants on the airside, and ample space and seating around the gates.
Gatwick Airport review by Mattia Costa
12 February 2008 Customer Rating : 
I connected in LGW on a Saturday afternoon - North terminal, incoming from Pisa and out to Amsterdam
2 hours later - and I am positively surprised by my experience. The security staff at connections
point was very friendly and helpful, maybe because I was the only passenger there, but I could not
experience such kindness anywhere else at an airport security check. Although the walk from and to
the gates is quite long, it does not take more than 10 minutes and the signage is very clear. In my
opinion, a perfect connection point for international flights!
Gatwick Airport review by Alan Wan
3 January 2008 Customer Rating : 
A limited number of shops and restaurants were open but was good compared to my last flight on Xmas
Day 2 years ago were there was only the World Duty Free, Yates and Upper Crust open. We checked in
the night before using Virgin Atlantic's twilight check-in facility, security queues were short and
we were through within 10 minutes.
Gatwick Airport review by Robert Bushby
20 December 2007 Customer Rating : 
Flew Easyjet from LGW South on Sat 15 Dec and a lack of road traffic plus an on-line check-in the
night before meant that I unintentionally had a bit more time to study the terminal and reach some
conclusions. Firstly; at 0930 the security lines were commendably short but how much better it would
be to have two people on the roller conveyor belt, not one and put a person on duty to load the
trays with bags & jackets at the start and have someone put trays into the X-ray machine further
along the track or even better get the type of conveyor installed where the empty trays pop out
ready for refilling at the start of the tracking without having to be restacked by hand. Anyway that
bit went slowly but ok but once inside the terminal was heaving. I reached the view that the
principal problem was not the number of passengers that morning but the intrusion of point-of-sale
carousels outside shops which create pinch-points where people are passing. Also the huge alchohol,
watch and perfume counters along with the car raffle stand all take up valuable floor space. In
essence the retail areas are eating into the public spaces and folks are being squeezed into less
and less space. Another gripe was the uncleared tables in the refreshment areas. A radical solution
would be to put a performance clause in the catering contract that no table remains uncleared for
more than 90 secs or the provider gets jumped on. Frankly the impression remains that it is all
about max profit and travellers are just viewed as passive cash cows. It was a relief to see my
flight called and escape to the relative calm of the Easyjet waiting area. Before someone from BAA
mutters 'rubbish' (and there was enough of that around) I have worked in aviation for 36 years and
run a terminal and yes I know extra staff cost money but the trick is to motivate and manage them
whilst overall there is a balance to be struck and it is currently tilted the wrong way. One
constructive thought BAA - please put some signs on either the way down or at the bottom of the
escalator from the first floor that can be seen easily to show the direction of the various
departure gates, as it is people get to the ground floor and then cast around looking which way to
go and stumbling into each other as they swerve round the booze counter.
Gatwick Airport review by S Paterson
12 December 2007 Customer Rating : 
Like John Oram I suffered an inexplicably long delay whilst waiting for my carousel number to show-
this time in September, at South Terminal, returning from Monastir around 2am, hardly peak time- yet
we waited ONE HOUR to be told where our bags would be arriving. But my comments concern a more
recent visit to LGW, flying to Edinburgh for a long weekend. Even leaving almost two hours to check
in, we still had no time to peruse shops or eat breakfast at the airport. Queues for every retail
outlet were snaking out of the door, and this was around 9am on a Friday morning. It is quite clear
that BAA cannot accomodate the delays caused by extra security checks, or the influx of passengers
as a consequence of new routes. On the way back, on Sunday evening, we landed at LGW on a delayed
flight around 1am. No ground staff were available to tow our aircraft the last remaining few metres
to the terminal building, no chocks were available for our aircraft's wheels, and nobody was around
to bring an air-bridge to the door, hence around 150 irate and exhausted passengers desperate to be
home and instead made to sit on a stationary plane on the tarmac. Oh, and the BAA 'live flight
arrivals' internet page goes up and down like a yo-yo. Come on BAA, pull your finger out and make
Gatwick a less stressful experience.
Gatwick Airport review by Alastair Reid
12 December 2007 Customer Rating : 
Flew out of South Terminal on Easyjet to Marseilles. Arrived 0945,check-in no probem at all 4 or 5
mins (didnt do on-line check-in having found out that if you do you get a low boarding priority).
Security around 10/15 mins, could have been a lot worse, however once airside things went downhill.
Frustrating queues at most retail outlets, 10 mins at WHSmith just to buy a paper, another 10 mins
at Boots. These places just don't have enough tills open. At the Gents wc on the upper level, there
were 8 people qeuing for a cubicle! Can't recall having seen that at any airport anywhere in the
world. And all this on a weekday morning, not in school holidays, with no flight delays.
Gatwick Airport review by John Oram
23 November 2007 Customer Rating : 
Let it be quite clear that it is not acceptable to wait 40mins even for a carousel to be decided
upon, never mind actually to receive any luggage. I arrived from Zurich at 1930hrs on a Sunday and
would classify the period as quiet - four or five short haul flights arrived - and when we arrived 6
out of eight carousels were available. BA claim that BAA assign the carousels. Be that as it may,
the team collecting the baggage must know where they are taking it to so why is this not promulgated
much sooner than it is?
Gatwick Airport review by Guy Senior
23 November 2007 Customer Rating : 
Arrived at 6.30 am on a weekday when Gatwick can be bad to find hardly any queues anywhere
(admittedly I had only hand luggage and checked in online, but check in queues seemed short) and -
amazingly - all the security lines open, so only 5 minutes to get through. There are now even
carpet and benches by the shoe check section. Coming back the following day, again no queue at
immigration, but it is a long walk from the remote pier at North to get out. To top it all, it was
also clean throughout. Why can't it always be as good?
Gatwick Airport review by John Oram
19 November 2007 Customer Rating : 
Check-in lines under control; security swift although separate check for shoes is entirely
unnecessary and far more than the DfT guideline 1 in 3 were being sent through. Disproportionate
focus on shoes in UK detracts from any more likely threats.
Gatwick Airport review by J Brown
15 November 2007 Customer Rating : 
By the time our delayed flight arrived, the Gatwick Express service had closed and we had to try and
sleep on uncomfortable seats in noisy areas with arcade music going non-stop until 05.15 to resume
our journey. There was no-one at the information desk in the five hours we were there.
Gatwick Airport review by Peter Schweizer
3 November 2007 Customer Rating : 
Arrived LGW early in the morning and departed from same in the evening. Airport was a zoo early in the
morning. Took the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station. Excellent connection but very expensive at GBP
26.80. Staff overall not friendly with hardly any smiles. Upon return to LGW the same evening, easily
found check-in counter for Germanwings, got my boarding card and was through security within 15
minutes only to find the departure hall being at 110% capacity. Looked like a run-down train station
with toilets being filthy. Not announcing the boarding gate until 30 minute prior to boarding is, in
my opinion, a real idiotic idea keeping loads of people confined to the small departure hall. Once
departure gate was announced, fairly long walk and found the overall appearance of the depature gates
rather depressing. Very average impression and certainly not an airport I look forward visiting again.
Gatwick Airport review by Paul Wilson
2 September 2007 Customer Rating : 
Flew out on Friday 14 September - depart from the south terminal. Delays on the Gatwick Express,
hence late for check in - but airline oaky about this. Long delay at security. Advising that only
one piece of hand luggage allowed, no exceptions. All the women were told that their handbags counted
as one piece! Had been through the North Terminal the weekend before and I found them faster, and
allowing one piece of hand luggage and a laptop bag... Did not have time to shop or look at anything
as had only 15 minutes to get to the gate.
Gatwick Airport review by John Oram
2 September 2007 Customer Rating : 
The experience of seeing someone off on 29 August was generally fine. Gatwick certainly creates a
better impression than the increasingly shabby Heathrow though, itself, it could do with some
attention in parts. I noted a brief surge in security queues but they seemed to be working hard to
keep them down and the Fast Track had, at least that morning, been re-instated. What I am really
writing about though, is the North Terminal car park. This has been refurbished in the last year and,
cosmetically, it is very nice. It is clean and well lit and all the necessary markings including
pedestrian routes have been freshly painted. It is on the practical side that it fails. I accept that
there is little BAA can do about the basic structure but I wonder still about the layout. Almost every
space is impinged upon by a pillar; the spaces are narrow anyway. Manoeuvring in or out of a space has
to be done slowly and this constantly impedes the flow of traffic within the car park. Flow is further
affected by the extensive habit by private cars and taxis of picking up on the ground floor. This
should be policed and stopped. Given the amount of usage, the entirely opportunistic Fast Track
section on Level 3 could be much reduced in size. Very few people park in there and I suspect those
who do are either those who dashed in without reading the signs (minimum £14.50 for 3 hours) or staff
on a freebie.
Gatwick Airport review by Jim Scott
30 August 2007 Customer Rating : n/a
Outbound on a Sunday morning in mid august. Check-in at easyJet was quick and painless but the same
cannot be said for clearing security in the south terminal. Although extra lines had been opened at
the side of the main historic entrance area, they quickly led to a classic snake style queue, hidden
just out of sight behind a conveniently located wall. Overall the process here lasted almost 25
minutes. This figure is, unbelievably, much shorter than the 55 minute delay we suffered in similar
circumstances one Sunday afternoon about 3 months ago. Thus the overall impression was better, but
only as compared to a previous experience which was frankly shambolic.
Gatwick Airport review by Martin Brown
10 August 2007 Customer Rating : 
North Terminal. Checkin was okay and baggage drop was reasonably quick, however the real nightmare is
the queue for security. To be honest, the queue wasn't very long, but it took a while to move any
great distance. It must've taken 80 minutes to get through this. In addition the security staff
decided to take a closer look at my bag - fair enough, but did they really need to empty the entire
contents out in full view of everyone? Did my hairbrush pose a threat? Once inside it is a really
nice terminal (I like the fountain), but the security is just a nightmare. Avoid this airport unless
you like to suffer.
Gatwick Airport review by Duncan Whiting
31 July 2007 Customer Rating : 
South Terminal July 18th 2007. Terminal too hot - outside temperature was not hot so goodness knows what
it's like in a heatwave. Went to buy a bottle of water from WH Smiths - but no 500ml bottles left,
and none of the fridges were working, meaning all remaining drinks were warm. Went upstairs for a
very average meal in Garfunkels. During this time I walked to the toilet and passed through the
McDonalds area. There was rubbish spilling from every bin, and all over the surrounding floor - every
empty table was stacked full of leftover trays with food. I saw one staff member in the distance
with a bin bag, clearing a distant table. I don't know if they had staff shortages that day but to
allow the eating area to get into that state is a disgrace.
Gatwick Airport review by L Coughlan
3 July 2007 Customer Rating : 
Transfer from International BA flight to domestic BA flight, North
Terminal. Why are connecting passengers forced to join the queue outside
of the terminal for security? The airlines quote 45 mins for transfer:
realistically, 2 hours are needed. Just two machines working, several
unmanned at 8pm, and a queue time of 90 minutes. Absolutely ridiculous.
And when finally through the security queue, there is now a second queue
for a separate shoes-only scanner next to the duty-free area. This is a
permanent BAA problem, not a once off. The message is clear: avoid LGW
and also LHR.
Gatwick Airport review by C James
30 June 2007 Customer Rating : not supplied
Yesterday I was in the longest queue I have ever been in to get through
security. The queue wrapped itself around the whole of the checkin area
in the South Terminal and basically joined up with itself. There was
even a man holding a letter "Q" to let people know where the end was -
it was ridiculous. If people had to fly before a certain time and then
they were brought to the front in a special queue, but it still took
over 45 minutes to get through security. To make matters worse, they
were still asking us to take our shoes off - as if wasn't taking long
enough already!
Gatwick Airport review by R Hopkins
14 June 2007 Customer Rating : 
Parking and transfer to the terminal was almost a pleasant experience
compared with other London airports recently. I was pleasantly
surprised at the quick check-in (BA) at departures and general speed of
operations on departures. Staff polite and friendly and no unreasonable
delays. It's really irritating to return to a different picture. The
passport control queues were a shambles. There seemed to be surprise at
several hundred people turning up at once, so just two queues for
returning UK and EU citizens while non-EU citizens moved through more
quickly! Suddenly one queue (not mine, of course) started moving much
more quickly. Three immigration officers were now assigned to that
queue, with only one remaining for the other. Any logic in this? Was
it just too obvious to assign two staff to each queue? Of course, there
were several others looking out for suspicious characters, but
presumably no managers and no-one senior enough to make any decisions.
I was not surprised there was a shouting match involving a female
passenger near the back of the queue.
Gatwick Airport review by Simon Smith
6 June 2007 Customer Rating : 
I use Gatwick once or twice a month and it is increasingly poor by W
Europe standards. Always long queues for security in N Terminal yet when
you get to the front you find that only half the xrays are in use! BAA
trot out the usual series of excuses. I feel sorry for the staff who are
doing their job but cop all the flak whilst managers are nowhere to be
seen.
Gatwick Airport review by Simon Smith
13 May 2007 Customer Rating : 
LGW is OK for departures but not great for arrivals. Security queues are
not as bad as at Stansted although still much worse than airports
elsewhere in Europe. Airside facilities in the South terminaql are OK
but the seating is very cramped, perhaps to force us to spend more time
in their shops. The main problems are on arrival: immigration queues are
often long even for EU citizens; I've had some experiences of very rude
immigration officers here (and I'm British - I dread to think how rude
they must be to non-EU citizens); and it always seems to take ages to
get luggage back. The main advantage of using LGW is the fast train link
to London - avoid the Gatwick Express and take the regular train, which
takes about the same amount of time but is about half the price.
Gatwick Airport review by Stephen Reid
10 May 2007 Customer Rating : 
GLA-LGW-GLA. Gatwick is much better than Heathrow but beware of
overzealous security. On the return leg at security in the North
Terminal we were stopped by the initial screening staff and asked to put
our hand luggage in a gauge to check the size - no problems as it was
the correct size. We were then directed to the Fast Track security x-
ray because it was quiet. First thing the loader of the x-ray said was
that our bag had to be checked for size and he would send for a gauge.
Our pointing out that this had just been done by the screening staff
fell on deaf ears. It's ridiculous that the actions of x-ray staff are
defeating the purpose of having screening staff, especially considering
this was Fast Track.
Gatwick Airport review by John Oram
1 May 2007 Customer Rating : n/a
Gatwick is, I suppose, just about adequate. I have just flown LGW-PFO-
LGW. It was an early start from LGW and everything that was needed was
up and running. Security seems to have stepped up as at Stansted and
there were plenty of positions open. W H Smith were the main offenders.
A whole section of the Saturday's Times was missing on first delivery
and, apparently, this is normal. A second delivery which arrived before
we left was complete but they had been perfectly happy to sell
incomplete papers at the full price. Due to the installation of a
particularly pointless ceiling above the travelators several of these on
the long South Terminal pier were not working. On the return journey
Immigration were irritating. Baggage started arriving quite quickly but
subsequent delivery was ragged.
Gatwick Airport review by A Coogans
19 February 2007
I recently flew from LGW for the first time in many years. It is nowhere
near as modern as I remember it. A bit of an 80's throwback. Queues were
as expected (long) but moved quickly but the barn-like check in area is
claustrophobic. The satellite - cold, harsh and basic. Can only imagine
what chaos ensues when every gate is full with the lack of seating! On
arrival immigration queues were long but at least this meant baggage was
waiting when we got to the arrivals hall. I never thought I would say
this but I prefer Heathrow!
Gatwick Airport review by Philip Littler
9 January 2007
Flew from LGW South terminal to HKG on Christmas Day 2006 in the
evening. In view of the paucity of flights, not surprisingly there was
no security delay. However once past security, I was appalled at the
lack of facilities available for departing passengers. Although the main
duty free shop was open, there was only one catering outlet available
(Garfunkel's- which closed at 6.30pm) and one bar which despite a sign
saying "food always available" was serving no food. The Servisair
business lounges were also closed (I didn't check any others) despite
signs on the doors saying "Open Monday to Sunday 0600-2100". My flight
left from the satellite and of course the smaller duty free shop and
catering outlet there were both closed. Just because it is Christmas Day
it does not mean that the world has to come to a halt. I had already had
to drive 3 hours to reach Gatwick as there were no trains or coaches
running and I had at least hoped to be able to relax when I got there.
Well relax I could as there was nothing else to do.
Gatwick Airport review by John Oram
15 November 2006
On my latest trip LGW-MAD-LGW Gatwick was just about OK. It did not
affect us but I noticed that North Terminal Short Stay parking is
currently restricted to 9 hours which I think is because of
refurbishment. Goodness knows how they could actually enforce that.
Security delays were not that great but the system was beyond bizarre.
Entry points 3 & 4 joined into one line and scanner. Single entry point
5 divided into two lines for two scanners one of which scanned shoes and
one of which did not. There are, apparently a number of trials going on
but nothing like the number of trials passengers have to suffer because
of our DfT. The revised regulations on liquids have done nothing to help
passengers or security staff. Baggage handling on return not that bad
but once again they kept the carousel secret for as long as possible.
Gatwick Airport review by Stewart McKane
5 November 2006
I used the South Terminal last week (end of October '06). Like others, a
check in after lunch time removes all queues, at 1300 there was barely a
queue to check in, nothing at passport control and 5 minutes at
security. Beware of Dixons if you are thinking of Duty Free - nasty
sales staff and more expensive than Amazon! Although the terminal was
busy inside the shopping area, it didn't feel crowded and there is
pleanty of space to relax in. However. Returning to London was hellish.
For all EU and UK citizens there were just two passport clerks for two
747's. I was lucky as I walked quickly, and escaped ahead of the chaos
that followed. The queue for foreign nationals was immense. Baggage
reclaim is in a shocking state. There is a lot of building work going on
there, few signs saying which belt your bags will appear at, surly staff
and a slow transfer of bags from tarmac to belts. Arrivals was it's
usual chaos, other airports have staff on hand to keep people back,
perhaps Gatwick could invest in a few? I had time to kill before my
train so wandered around for a bit - if you leave in the morning, expect
delays at security - the queue on ground and the first floor security
desks was from one end of the terminal to the other!! BAA - hire more
staff soon!
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