Gatwick Airport Photos

Gatwick airport evolved from a small flying club (Surrey Aero Club) and was issued with its first public license in 1934 allowing the airport to be used by commercial aircraft. It has now become the sixth busiest airport in the world. Today, Gatwick airport operates two terminals, the South Terminal and the newer North Terminal, which are connected by a track transit system consisting of three automatic vehicles with a travel time of around two minutes.

Aviation Photo Library of Gatwick Airport

Gatwick was officially opened by the Queen in June 1958 and was the first airport in the world to combine air, rail and road transport in a close-knit single unit. It is the second largest airport in the UK, with the terminals serving around 200 destinations and welcoming over 32 million passengers every year.

Around 90 airlines operate from Gatwick's two terminals including First Choice Airways, Easy Jet, Monarch Airlines, Thomson Fly, Thomas Cook and XL Airways. British Airways is the main user of the North Terminal.

In May 2005, Gatwick unveiled the Pier 6 Bridge which is the largest air passenger bridge in the world. The bridge spans a live aircraft taxiway and is high enough for aircraft the size of a Boeing 747-400 to pass underneath.

The bridge saves around 50 000 coach movements used to transport passengers around the airport each year and will reduce the need to tow aircraft for refuelling.

As the busiest single runway airport in the world, there is talk of an additional runway being built south of the present runway, but a legal agreement made in 1979 with the local council means Gatwick will not be able to expand before 2019.

The Heathrow Airport Photo Library is a rights-managed photo library and has a collection of both airport and aviation photos covering all of LHR's UK Airports, these include Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The content also includes generic airport and aviation images to cater for all our clients needs.

The Heathrow Airport Photo Library's collection of Gatwick aviation photos cover all aspects of life at Gatwick from arrival through to departures.

If you visit the site and need to find a photo in a hurry then try our Featured Galleries section to view a hand-picked selection of some of the most popular London Gatwick Airport photos.

We look forward to helping you with your image enquiries.