London Gatwick Airport

Customer Reviews

3 star Skytrax Rating
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Queuing Times 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Staff 12345
Customer rating from 541 reviews
4/10
3 star Skytrax Rating
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4/10

"bag after bag after bag"

(United Kingdom)

Well its no better. Now your hand luggage is very very likely to be thrown out for further inspection after x-ray, bag after bag after bag, and 2 people checking them. Folk waiting around and just like my bag nothing inside the suitcase that should cause the bag to have been selected. I often wonder if this is more to do with keeping Jobs than real security. Its time that this Airport entered the real world and provided the Staff and Services that we pay for. Stop flogging your rip off goods and bottled water that is more expensive than Petrol and get us happily on our way. I dread to think what will happen if Gatwick gets another runway.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitFebruary 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"airport has gone backwards"

(United Kingdom)

This airport has gone backwards month on month now for years - in this day and age the overall customer experience can only be described as appalling and probably one of the worst across Europe. I am a very frequent flyer and it amazes me that as one of our countries main airports how this can be acceptable. It's dirty, smells, staff have pretty much lost the will and the technology very rarely works. All in all its an utter shambles. I have been against the extra runway at LHR, however given the lack of credibility of Gatwick no wonder no one has taken their bid seriously.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitFebruary 2016
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"unable to do the most basic operations"

(United Kingdom)

As a frequent traveller, this is the absolute worst airport everytime I fly into here. The airport comes to a near standstill in the morning, unable to do the most basic operations - like get passengers off a plane and to the exit. For example, my flight landed at 7am and it took 15 min to get stairs to the plan, then a 10 min drive to the terminal, then a 20 min wait because the driver did not know the access code to tr door of the terminal. Then a broken elevator to the internal shuttle, then Gatwick express so over crowded that only a few people could board. Took the next 'express' which got stuck behind another local train and therefore still had to stop at Clapham - taking over 45 min. And this happens every time I take this flight.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitFebruary 2016
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"need to get the simple things right"

(United Kingdom)

Avoid this airport at all costs. Delays, unhelpful ground staff (in fact you can't find them), baggage that arrives at least 30 minutes after you've cleared immigration. For an airport that is bidding for another runway, they need to get the simple things right before they can take on additional aircraft and people. They almost need divine intervention. I will pay extra to fly into LHR. When you calculate the costs of delays, the filthy Gatwick Express (and it's horrendous single charges), LHR is much more appealing and offers you wider choice of getting into London.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitJanuary 2016
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
3/10

"baggage ended up taking forever"

(United Kingdom)

EDI-LGW on Boxing Day (26 Dec). Avoid. First, we were dumped on the far side of the airport when we didn't have to be (North Terminal), at a remote stand, when they had several proper gates spare. This took far too much time.Then, the baggage ended up taking forever. Overall impression? The £1 bn they are planning to spend on the facilities can't come soon enough.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitDecember 2015
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
no
2/10

"airport is in disarray"

(United Kingdom)

I had not used Gatwick North for probably over a decade - have had the misfortune to have to use it twice in recent months for short city breaks to Europe. Both trips check in was no problem pretty quick, the airport is in disarray with the building work and choces of somewhere to sit are very poor - that dreadful Jamie Olivers experience - like a bad staff canteen just nasty and overpriced. The worst of Gatwick was to come with both of my arrivals back into the UK - miles walking through corridors to finally get to immigration and customs - good grief the horror - The EU passport holders - was packed to the rafters, on both occasions a massive and I mean massive queue going nowhere. I looked at the non-EU Passport queues - both arrivals were empty - completely empty whilst us UK and European fools were herded like cattle - I also hold an Australian passport and oh how I wished I had used it instead. My first experience of this horror was with a flght that arrived at 00.30 - I stupidly presumed that maybe I'd been unlucky and lots of flights jus happened to arrive at the same time - oh no my next arrival at 16.00 same shocker of an experience. As others have stated staff awful, unfriendly, unhelpful. The self scan gates a joke - slower than the conventional - I was having trouble using the scan gate - despite following the instructions - the staff member was extremely unhelpful and told me what I had already tried to do - alking away from me. I finally barked at him 'your not helping me why are you here doing nothing help me' bit bad tempered but by that stage after being in the cattle court for over an hour - so close to escaping but yet too far I had just had it. Avoid at all costs - flying in from Australia a few months earlier into Heathrow - completely different experience.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitDecember 2015
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
3/10

"praying Heathrow gets its 3rd runway"

(United Kingdom)

This is the third time in a year I've had the misfortune to use Gatwick rather than the well-managed and connected Heathrow. On a previous occasions areas of the North Terminal departure lounge were cordoned off with mop buckets collecting dripping water on the stairway. This is the second time the Gatwick 'Express' is quoting a 90 min journey time to central London. I'm in an UBER to town writing this review and praying that Heathrow gets its 3rd runway.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitJanuary 2016
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
7/10

"be prepared to walk"

(United Kingdom)

Normally travelling through Gatwick isn't too much of a bad experience, as a main hub from Jersey to London, it's pretty much the only London airport we can use. Travelling on British Airways, arriving into the North Terminal isn't bad, depending on whether you arrive on a International Stand or a Domestic stand means you are either coached to the arrivals area, or you have a 10min walk to arrivals from the gate. The last time I had to travel from the North Terminal to the South, the shuttle was delayed and appeared that only one was working at the time, with a busy transit this was not ideal, however a 3 min journey time is not bad, the queue for the train ticket collection wasn't bad, less than 5min so can't complain, good travel links from gatwick to the South of the UK too. There are good selection of hotels around the airport and shops / eateries within airside of departures. Gatwick is currently being upgraded so there is disruption and building work, however you learn to live with this. My last experience of Gatwick was departures, the "fast track" security was not fast track and took 20min to get through due to one machine being operational. The signs for gates are clearly marked and having travelled lots into Gatwick it is an airport where I don't get lost. Like many airports, be prepared to walk! The gates at times are spread over possibly a 1-2 mile radius so leave plenty of time.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitDecember 2015
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
yes
1/10

"Absolute Mayhem on arrival"

(United Kingdom)

Absolute Mayhem on arrival. We arrived early from Tenerife with a reasonable 1.5 hours before a UK departure and hand luggage only. Should be OK, but Passport Control was horrendously backed up with people herded like cattle into the guides and up the corridor. The non-UK queue was whizzing by and we watched with envy as non Brits cruised past the UK Nationals. Passive people missed their flight connections and trains and if it were not for the 3rd person I begged we would have missed our connection too, but she relented and let us through the empty 'fast track' passport control. We made it to the gate just as they were boarding. Stressed is not the word. The 'electronic' passport control is a well known joke and avoided by all in the know. We even were forced around a perfectly good route in departures by 2 people whose sole function was to prevent people taking that route. No explanation, no apology "just do it". The airport is tacky, cheap and a poor indication of British standards (or have we fallen that far that we think it is OK) I travel a lot and everyone knows, avoid London airports if you want to get anywhere without hassle. The 2 Moscow airports are a challenge and I prefer them.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitDecember 2015
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"Gatwick Airport is tatty"

(United Kingdom)

The Border Controls were overwhelmed on arrival. A never ending tatty work in progress with shouted commands within the hall and hundreds of people queuing in glum resignation. The electronic gates are so slow that even those queues were hardly moving. Gatwick Airport is tatty and a hotchpotch of outdated buildings and roads that were never properly planned. Arriving or departing by car is fraught with danger due to extremely poor road planning and even worse road markings and direction signs. Remain calm if possible as there is no sign that any coherent improvement will occur anytime soon.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitNovember 2015
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no