Airport History - Gatwick Airport Car Parking from SkyParkSecure
History of Gatwick Airport
1241: The name Gatwick can be dated back to 1241, when Richard de Warwick assigned his rights to some land in the manor of Charlwood (four aces of meadow and 18 acres of land) to John de Gatwick and his heirs. The land was part of what was later known as the Manor of Gatwick and was owned by the de Gatwicks until the 14th century when it then passed to various families.
1890: Gatwick was purchased by the Gatwick Race Course Company. During the First World War, the Aintree Grand National was abandoned and a substitute was run over the same distance at Gatwick in 1916, 1917 and 1918.
1930: Gatwick Airport began life as a small flying club (Surrey Aero Club). Gatwick soon grew as a flying club.
1931: The Surrey Aero Club saw an increasing number of jockeys and racegoers arriving by air for meetings at the adjacent racecourse.
1934: The Air Ministry issued Gatwick with its first public licence allowing the airport to be used by commercial aircraft.
1935: Hillman's Airways (the first airline to operate out of Gatwick to Paris and Belfast) merged with United Airways and Spartan Airways to form Allied British Airways Limited.
1935: A new railway station was opened at Gatwick and was initially served by two Southern Railway trains an hour, on the Victoria to Brighton line.
1936: Passengers were able to fly to Paris, Malmo via Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen and the Isle of Wight from Gatwick.
1936: 'The Beehive', the world's first circular terminal, was officially opened. The Beehive had several novel features including a 130-yard- long subway to the train station so visitors to the airport could remain under cover from the time they left London Victoria until the time they boarded an aircraft.
1936: On 17 May, passengers boarded the first scheduled service from Gatwick to Paris - the single fare for the flight cost four pounds and five shillings (equivalent today of £160.22) and included the first-class train fare from Victoria.
1939-1945: During the Second World War, the airport was requisitioned by the Air Ministry for use by the RAF, its area was later extended by further requisitioning to include part of Gatwick Racecourse.
1952: The Government gave approval for the proposed development of Gatwick as an alternative to Heathrow.
1956: Gatwick closed in March and building began on 'the new London Airport'. The airport cost £7.8 million to build and took two and three-quarter years to build.
1958: On 9 June, Her Majesty The Queen officially opened Gatwick Airport. It was the first airport in the world to combine air, rail and road transport in a close-knit single unit.
1958: A complete modernisation building programme was finished in 1985 to refurbish the pier.
1962: Work began on enlarging the airport - the terminal was doubled in size and two more piers were built.
1967: Passenger figures exceeded 2 million for the first time.
1982: Pope John Paul II flew into Gatwick on the first Papal visit to the UK.
1983: Work began on building a second terminal at Gatwick. The North Terminal was to be the largest, single construction project south of London to have taken place in the 1980s - the main building is approximately six times the size of the Royal Albert Hall.
1984:The new air traffic control tower was built and officially opened by Princess Michael of Kent - the tower is still among the tallest in Europe.
1984: InterCity launched its non-stop Gatwick Express rail service from Victoria.
1985: In July, British Airways Concorde made its first ever commercial flight from Gatwick.
1985: Construction began on the new northern runway, which would be used as alternative to the main runway in case of emergencies.
1985: Pier 1 is the only part of the present-day South Terminal that dates back to the original building in
1988: The £200 million North Terminal was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.
1991: A second pier was opened at North Terminal.
1994: The new North Terminal International Departures Lounge and the first phase of the new South Terminal International Departures Lounge opened. The investment for both the lounges was £30 million.
1998: British Airways introduced the first Boeing 777 to their fleet at Gatwick.
2000: BAA Gatwick launched its ground-breaking Sustainable Development Strategy, which, following three years, close consultation with local authorities and communities around Gatwick, outlines how the airport should develop during the next ten years.
2000: A £29.5-million extension to the international departure lounge in the South Terminal was opened, offering increased seating capacity and new shops and restaurants.
2001: A new extension to the North Terminal international departure lounge was opened, a £35-million development which offers passengers extra seating and a wider range of shops and catering facilities.
2001: BAA Gatwick develops a unique legal agreement with West Sussex County Council and Crawley Borough Council to protect local communities from the impacts of future airport growth.
2004: New £4.5million domestic reclaim hall opens
2005:Noise and blight assistance schemes launched , £40 million extension and refurbishment to South Terminal’s baggage reclaim hall opens, World-first Pier 6 passenger bridge opens for business, spanning the live taxiway.
