London Gatwick Airport

Gatwick has improved out of all recognition since the change of ownership. We travelled on peak summer weekends but were through check-in and security in 20 mins left and arrived back on time. Waited just 15 minutes for our bags on return baggage reclaim used to be dreadful.

Not too busy and it is very entertaining with its cafes and shops my only problem with Gatwick is the terminals and how long you have to wait. With my last flight on easyjet I had to wait a 1hr 30min.

Used South Terminal this time having had a terrible time at North recently. The South Terminal is like a completely different airport though it's still hard to see why baggage drop-off is as slow as regular check-in. Are these terminals run by the same people?

Arrived back from Turkey at 3am expecting to queue able to walk straight through. Baggage return took 10 mins. Only worry I find that when lots of planes arrived passport control removed staff and baggage return can take up to 1 hr or more. Facilities are good the airport is certainly not excellent.

Used for arrival and departure yes it looks like construction site but it actually is. I was surprised how fast and efficient everything was. Train station was easy to use with lack of lifts and escalators on one platform. On departure security check was very fast on arrival long walk from remote domestic gate. Immigration done in couple of seconds. Food facilities are plentiful in both terminals train between terminals fast to use.

You expect Gatwick to be busy in August and it was. South Terminal was heaving but as I had my boarding card and several hours before flying I took the free monorail shuttle to the North Terminal which had plenty of spare seats. Both North and South terminals have M&S Food to Go outlets so it is easy to get food before going airside. Returning to the South Terminal I had allowed plenty of time for the security checks. This has changed and was very fast indeed despite being a very busy day. I used the departures zone on the first floor where boarding cards can be passed through automatic scanners. There were plenty of scanners manned.

We arrived within the recommended time having checked-in online. The queue to drop off speedy boarding luggage was so slow we had to be pulled through by staff. If we'd had travelled down on the morning we'd have missed the flight. It was a close-call with no time for shopping. If we hadn't checked in online we could have missed the flight.

South Terminal Arrivals can be a bit of a mess especially at busy times North Terminal seems better. Baggage arrivals reasonably efficient at both terminals. Departures in South have opened their new Security Screening Area upstairs which I thought was slick and quick and given the passenger numbers they handle was a good as anything at any major airport. Check-In Areas on the airlines that I use are well managed and efficient. Good shopping at both terminals both landside and airside. I think the investment in the airport is beginning to be seen. Airport Hotels are competitively priced with plenty to choose from. LGW certainly offers a better experience than LHR and definitely affects my choice of airline.

Arrived off a long-haul flight-North terminal. Luggage took forever to be unloaded from plane to carousel then huge queues to go through customs due to sniffer dogs being on patrol. Airport is a complete building site and with the closure of the J D Wetherspoons in the south terminal (before security) passengers are left to use overpriced eating and drinking establishments. The only good thing is that the M & S food outlet is open 24/7.

Outbound mid-morning no queues and the new 'electronic' ticket check seems to work fine but security although in a new area is still as slow and as chaotic as ever. Inbound at nearly midnight such a long walk from Gate 4 and still queues!