Most passengers living in the south east, if given the choice between flying from Heathrow or Gatwick, will opt for Gatwick any day of the week.
The airport has avoided what has been dubbed “Heathrow Hell” has become a number one priority when booking flights.
Last week, Gatwick received the accolade of being voted the best out of the ten most busy airports in Europe, as far as queuing time at security is concerned.
Each quarter, a survey is conducted by the Airports Council International, with passengers from all over the world involved in it.
There are thirty five different categories, covering all sorts of services provided by airports, and Gatwick has really pulled out all the stops to get to this position.
Twelve months ago it was rated seventh out of ten and, according to Andy Flower, the managing director of BAA at Gatwick, this is a “testament to the dedication and commitment” of the staff at the airport.
Gatwick beat Amsterdam’s Schiphol, Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and Orly, Rome, Madrid, Copenhagen, Manchester, Heathrow and Frankfurt. The rating is no mean feat given that the airport handles in excess of 35 million passengers each year.
As anyone who has used Gatwick recently will tell you, the extra 650 staff at security and 7 extra security lanes have certainly paid dividends in reducing queues at what experts agree is the most stressful point of a passenger’s journey.
A survey conducted by the travel and tourism industry in Jan this year discovered that security queues were one of the top three gripes with passengers, along with slow check-in procedures and crowds in airport lounges.
