LONDON GATWICK AIRPORT   Passenger Reviews and Customer opinions

LONDON GATWICK AIRPORT review : 7 May 2008 : by Mark Evans

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

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!