London Gatwick Airport

Dreadful and tired old airport. Passport control on arrival was mayhem there was a mass of people waiting blocking up the whole area with no queues and I've witnessed this on various occasions. Only the Gatwick Express is a decent train of a similar standard to other European countries but the other local trains from Gatwick are old rickety and distinctly over- priced.

Security surprisingly quick and the Departure Lounge is quite spacious (north terminal). If LGW wonder why they are rated so low in terms of passenger comfort and satisfaction they should seriously look at their constant announcements! There cannot be more than 15-30 seconds free of announcements at any one time and it makes for a very noisy and quite stressful atmosphere. Flew into LGW from ZRH which seemed to be a haven of tranquillity compared to the LGW stress.

Friday afternoon departure and return on a Sunday night to and from the North Terminal. The building work in the terminal is causing minimal disruption. Security was a breeze and in the departure lounge in ten minutes from being dropped off at the terminal. The return was equally uneventful and efficient along the walk from the gate at the airbridge seemed to go on and on and on. That being said I was out and in the car in less than half an hour of landing.

An early morning departure from the south terminal it was very crowded. The security staff coped well and were very helpful to some passengers who had too much in their liquids bag. Arriving back in the evening was a different story. The immigration staff were incredibly rude one was just plain nasty not to me but to a young lady flying on her own who was nervous. If you cross the line before the officer calls you you get snapped at if you hesitate it's the same .Who trains these people and who monitors their behaviour?

We used LGW on on BA European. It was quiet on our departure. There is substantial North Terminal refurbishment underway focused it seems on the car parks. I hope it is worth their while. Gatwick has probably suffered more then most over the years from the vagaries of the airline industry as Laker Dan-Air and Air Europe all disappeared and BA have had an increasingly fluid approach to their routes and operations there. Security was swift and painless and I think overall that the new owners are making an effort to improve the airport. Baggage handling on our return was quick but they still could advertise the carousel earlier. After all they must now which it is going to be.

I have not used it for over a year. In early January 2011 the place is more open and airier. BA check in took 2 minutes and for once the fast track security was just that taking all of 5 minutes. The BA lounge is being refurbished which is a bit of a shame as the old lounge was lovely. Coming back I was out of the airport within 40 minutes.

Early morning departure from North Terminal to Paphos and evening return a fortnight later. Checked in hold luggage the night before - worth doing (despite having to pay £2-50 for the short term car park to do so) as the airport was empty and tranquil. Next morning through security quickly and the only slight grumble was that the boarding gate indication wasn't displayed until well after the designated time. On return had to wait maybe ten minutes for the luggage carousel to be indicated otherwise painless. Not the airport's fault but the traffic from the airport to the M25 was horrid!

A midday departure to Tallin from the South terminal. No queue at check in security was quick and easy and the security staff were very friendly. A pleasant experience all round.

North Terminal - Returning yesterday we had booked a taxi pickup from the new Arrivals/Departure roadside zone-- what a big mistake! Working out how to get there from Arrivals was a challenge in itsself -up the lift to 1st floor then down another lift to the ground floor taxi pickup point - the signing was non existant and it was sheer luck we got through. Then waiting for the taxi we got soaked as the whole area is exposed to the drenching weather!

The development of Gatwick seems to involve endless additions of long often claustrophic corridors leading from one place to another. This now even includes the rebuilt first-floor (South Terminal) toilets which you need to plan for in advance rather than depend on an emergency rush! The airside facilities are not at all bad but the procedures in place for 'security' include incoming passengers having to carry bar-coded pieces of paper with them till they reach the exit and photography of people using domestic flights. Why do we have to be so persistently criminalized for travelling by air?