London Gatwick is to temporarily close its North Terminal from Wednesday 1 April 2020.
All existing airport operations will be consolidated in the South Terminal.
The airport’s single runway will also only be used for scheduled flights between 14:00 and 22:00 each day.
The runway will remain available for emergency landings and diversions outside of these hours.
The North Terminal is currently used by airlines such as easyJet, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Tui and Virgin Atlantic. easyJet is currently operating a skeleton schedule. Virgin Atlantic has temporarily transferred all operations to London Heathrow.
The few flights remain operating by these airlines will transfer to the South Terminal. This is currently used by airlines such as Aer Lingus, British Airways, Ryanair and Vueling.
This arrangement will continue for at least one month. London City airport has also closed until the end of April at the earliest. London Heathrow airport is expected to shortly announce terminal closures.
Given airlines have today, Friday 27 March, been given a slot alleviation until October 2020, schedules are likely to remain substantially reduced until the autumn.
Airlines operating at London City, Gatwick and Heathrow airports have the flexibility to cancel flights up to 24 October 2020 without risk of forfeiting slots.
London Heathrow Terminal 5A (Image Credit: Heathrow)
Airlines operating at London City, Gatwick, Heathrow and many other UK & EU airports have been granted further flexibility to cancel flights without forfeiting slots.
Under EU “use it or lose it” rules airlines must use their slots for at least 80% of each travel season. Otherwise, the slots are forfeited and will become available to other airlines.
Following a ruling by the European Commission, ACL, which is responsible for overseeing slot allocations at London City, Gatwick and Heathrow, had allowed an alleviation until Tuesday 30 June 2020.
This was granted just two weeks ago and was due to be reviewed again in May. However, this alleviation has now been extended to the entirety of the summer season, until Saturday 24 October 2020.
Airlines operating at London City, Gatwick and Heathrow airports have the flexibility to cancel flights up to 30 June 2020 without risk of forfeiting slots.
Airlines operating at London City, Gatwick and Heathrow airports have been granted a waiver to cancel flights up to 30 June 2020 without risk of forfeiting their slots.
Under “use it or lose it” rules airlines must use their slots for 80% of the time during a travel season. Otherwise, the slots will be forfeited and placed into a pool for other airlines to bid for.
For airlines facing significantly reduced demand due to Coronavirus, this means they are limited in how many flights they cancel.
Airlines would rather run empty flights than hand slots free of charge to their competitors, which in the case of Heathrow, could otherwise cost tens of millions to buy.
Airport Coordination Ltd which oversees the management of slots at City, Gatwick and Heathrow, had granted a limited waiver for slots used for mainline China and Hong Kong flights. The company had said that its ability to grant a broader waiver was constrained by EU Slot Regulations.
The European Airport Coordinators Association had published a paper urging the European Commission to relax these regulations. It has since done so, and whilst the legislation has not yet been formally adopted by the European Council and European Parliament, ACL will now relax slot regulations.
London Heathrow Terminal 5A (Image Credit: Heathrow)
Planned industrial action by staff at Heathrow Airport represented by the Unite trade union on Tuesday 6 August 2019 has been suspended.
This follows talks between Heathrow and Unite today and over the weekend at the conciliation service ACAS.
The airport will now operate normally and published restrictions on hand baggage for departing and connecting customers will be lifted.
At the time of publication, planned industrial action for Friday 23 August and Saturday 24 August 2019, which involves additional workgroups in dispute with Heathrow, is still scheduled to go ahead.
Individual airlines have made their own contingency plans to mitigate the impact of industrial action.
If you have proactively rebooked onto an alternative flight to avoid travelling through Heathrow on the days of the planned strike action, you should not need to change your booking again. If you do wish to do so, this will be at the discretion of your airline.
Some airlines have proactively re-routed flights at the request of the airport in anticipation of disruption and it will be for individual airlines to decide whether to reinstate flights at short notice.
Virgin Atlantic has confirmed it is not switching flights transferred to Gatwick back to Heathrow.
Planned industrial action by staff employed by Heathrow airport on Monday 5 August has been suspended. A strike may still go ahead on Tuesday 6 August.
London Heathrow Terminal 5A (Image Credit: Heathrow)
Planned industrial action by staff at Heathrow Airport represented by the Unite trade union on Monday 5 August 2019 has been suspended.
This follows talks between Heathrow and Unite over the weekend at the conciliation service ACAS. The strike has been suspended to allow for further talks.
The airport will now operate normally and restrictions on hand baggage for departing and connecting customers will be lifted.
At the time of publication, planned industrial action for Tuesday 6 August, Friday 23 August and Saturday 24 August 2019 is still scheduled to go ahead.
Individual airlines have made their own contingency plans to mitigate the impact of industrial action.
If you have proactively rebooked onto an alternative flight to avoid travelling through Heathrow on the days of the planned strike action, you should not need to change your booking again. If you do wish to do so, this will be at the discretion of your airline.
Some airlines have proactively cancelled and re-routed flights at the request of the airport in anticipation of disruption and it will be for individual airlines to decide whether to reinstate flights at short notice. Given the further confusion it could cause, this is unlikely to happen.
British Airways has reversed all previous cancellations and Heathrow terminal changes for Monday 5 August. Virgin Atlantic is not switching flights transferred to Gatwick back to Heathrow.
London Heathrow Terminal 5A (Image Credit: Heathrow)
Heathrow Airport staff represented by the Unite trade union were due to take industrial action from 00:01 BST on Monday 5 August to 23:59 BST Tuesday 6 August 2019.
This follows a pay dispute between Unite and Heathrow Airport.
Headlines – 16:55 BST Monday 5 August
As at 16:55 BST Monday 5 August 2019, the strike has been called off for Monday and Tuesday to allow members to vote on a revised offer following further talks between Heathrow and Unite.
Two further days of industrial action are still planned for Friday 23 August and Saturday 24 August 2019.
A number of airlines had cancelled and rerouted flights in anticipation of disruption at Heathrow and it will be for individual airlines to decide whether reinstate flights at Heathrow.
Qatar Airways has rerouted some return flights between Doha and London Heathrow on Monday 5 August (QR7/QR8) and Tuesday 6 August (QR3/QR4) to Gatwick.
Virgin Atlantic has rerouted some transatlantic return flights on Monday 5 August & Tuesday 6 August from London Heathrow to the North Terminal at London Gatwick. These flights will operate under different flight numbers and have different departure and arrival times. Virgin has confirmed that these flights will not revert back to Heathrow even though Monday’s flights have been called off.
A number of other airlines had cancelled flights on Monday 6 August including Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Alitalia, Etihad, Eurowings, Flybe, Lufthansa, SWISS and United. Many of these have now been reinstated.
A number of airlines had implemented flexible rebooking policies. As the immediate threat of strike action has been lifted, these should be withdrawn shortly.
General Guidance
General guidance on the strike and specifically limitations on hand baggage is available from Heathrow Airport.
Heathrow Airport also provides live arrivals and departures information for all flights, including codeshares.
The staff taking industrial action are security guards, firefighters, engineers, passenger service operatives and passenger service drivers.
Check-in, baggage handling and lounge facilities should largely operate as normal as these staff are either employed directly by airlines or contracted through handling agents.
Talks are under way at the conciliation service ACAS this weekend. They adjourned on Sunday evening and will continue on Monday so Tuesday’s strike could still be called off at the 11th hour.
The airport is due to remain open during the strike and whilst Heathrow has put in place contingency measures, it is inevitable that there will be disruption. Heathrow has also asked airlines to reduce their schedules.
Airlines are also implementing their own contingency plans by offering flexible rebooking policies, some of which are detailed below. As these are at the discretion of individual airlines, they do vary by airline and not all airlines are offering them.
Virgin Atlantic, as per details below, has also transferred some transatlantic flights on Monday & Tuesday to Gatwick.
Based on what is known so far the biggest impact will be on connecting and departing passengers, specifically at security. Priority security lines and channels will be closed and there are limitations on what can be taken through security.
Passengers are advised to arrive two hours before departure for short-haul flights and three hours before departure for long-haul flights and take as little as possible as hand luggage.
The best advice is to ensure you have up to date contact details on your booking and, if you have the chance to change your flight, take it.
If you are connecting through Heathrow it is strongly advised that you check with your airline whether you can pursue an alternative routing through another European airport.
Heathrow operates at full capacity and any delays at security and to flights will inevitably have knock-on effects, particularly if queues cause congestion in the terminals.
The Sunday Times is reporting that Gatwick airport is to unveil plans to bring its standby runway into regular use to increase capacity at the airport.
London Gatwick Airfield (Image Credit: London Gatwick Airport)
The Sunday Times, today 14 October 2018, is reporting that Gatwick airport is to unveil plans for an effective second runway.
The paper, presumably on the basis of off-the-record briefing by Gatwick PRs, reports that Gatwick plans to unveil a new airport masterplan this coming Thursday.
Under these plans, its shorter standby runway would be brought into regular use for short-haul aircraft. The legal basis for this is the imminent expiry of an agreement made in 1979 not to build a second runway at Gatwick.
This would require approval from the Civil Aviation Authority. The Sunday Times has been briefed that this move could increase the airport’s capacity by 20% – 30%, adding up to 231 extra flights a day. Such a move would clearly require additional terminal infrastructure. Given the close proximity of the two runways, there will be inevitable safety concerns.
Gatwick airport campaigned vociferously for it to be chosen to have a new runway over Heathrow. However, the Government first indicated Heathrow was its preferred airport for a new runway nearly two years ago. The expansion of Heathrow is of course mired in legal challenges. This is something that Gatwick will not be immune to.
That is not the only Gatwick story in today’s papers. The Mail On Sunday, citing “City sources”, is reporting that Global Infrastructure Partners is close to selling its remaining 42% stake in the airport.
Etihad business, First Class and The Residence passengers continue to have access to the lounge. As do Gold and Platinum members of the Etihad Guest frequent flyer programme. Etihad economy passengers can also purchase access to the lounge.
No1 Lounges is now selling access to passengers of all airlines departing from Terminal 4 on its website for £45 per person.
This move has been expected for some time. Etihad has had well documented financial problems of late. It had already been selling lounge access to economy passengers. A radical reshaping of its route network and fleet has been expected. However, the effective handing over of its lounge at London Heathrow is a significant move. It shows that nothing is off the table.
Whilst Etihad is at pains to emphasise that facilities will be reconfigured in the coming year, it is a simple fact that the lounge will be busier.
Having experienced third party lounges operated for both airlines and on a pay-per-access basis, it can be problematic. When the schedules of participating airlines and periods of peak passenger demand collide, they can become extremely crowded. Even simple things, like not having to queue to get in, cannot be taken for granted.
The House is open from 06:00 to 21:00 daily. Passengers must be over the age of 12 to access the lounge.
Lounge facilities include a tendered bar, a dining room with table service and a la carte morning breakfast and all day menus, and shower suites.
The lounge is located in the departures area, near the SkyTeam lounge, opposite Gate 10.
Gordon Ramsay Plane Food Picnic (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
When Gordon Ramsay’s “Plane Food” restaurant opened at London Heathrow Terminal 5 a little over ten years ago, the arrival of an airport restaurant bearing the name of a well known chef wasn’t the only innovation.
Plane Food also introduced the concept of the dedicated onboard “picnic”.
That wasn’t the first time the concept of bring your own catering entered into the consciousness of the travelling public. Readers may recall industrial action at BA’s Heathrow catering provider Gate Gourmet in the summer of 2005 which resulted in months of very limited catering on short-haul flights. Retailers at Heathrow did a roaring trade as passengers spent their free meal vouchers in the terminals. As free catering offerings in the air have diminished over the past ten years, it also proved to be a prescient move.
Having never been a great fan of the second meal service in any cabin on BA long-haul flights, which is usually some variant of Afternoon Tea, it was high time to try out a Plane Food picnic. So here we’ve road tested a picnic on a transatlantic flight from London Heathrow in World Traveller Plus.
Ordering A Picnic
You can’t miss Gordon Ramsay Plane Food as you exit the South security lanes at Terminal 5.
You can order a picnic at the counter which is immediately at the entrance. Here is the current menu. You can choose from one of three starters, mains, and desserts that are displayed in cabinets behind the counter. You also have a choice of a bottle of still or sparkling water. There is one set price of £18.50. Don’t forget to pick-up cutlery!
Only if you are Victoria Beckham can you acquire one before even entering the terminal.
The Picnic
Your picnic is encased in an insulated zip-up case about 30cms by 23cms in size.
Each item is plated separately with a plastic casing. As on this flight, I was seated in an exit row it had to go in the overhead bin for take off, where you need to make sure it packed appropriately to survive being thrown about whilst the aircraft hurtles towards 38,000 feet.
Here is the picnic in the air:
– A starter of potted salt beef brisket with grain mustard, prosciutto ham, piccalilli and rocket – A main of poached chicken breast, basil pesto, grilled portabello mushroom – A dessert of fruit salad
Gordon Ramsay Plane Food Picnic (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
London Gatwick Check In Area 1958 (Image Credit: Gatwick Airport)
Saturday 9 June 2018 marks the 60th anniversary of London Gatwick airport in its current form.
The airport first started operations on 6 June 1936. Her Majesty The Queen officially opened what is now known as the South Terminal on 9 June 1958.
In its 60 year history Gatwick has been the birthplace of Freddie Lakers’ “SkyTrain” service from London to New York in 1977 and Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural flight to Newark in 1984. It has seen easyJet grow from next to nothing to operating nearly half of all flights at the airport within the space of 20 years.
It has seen a near complete exodus of North American routes to Heathrow after EU-US Open Skies in 2008, only for Norwegian to launch routes many key American gateways. It has seen BA slash capacity at the airport by almost half at the start of this century, and to rebound in recent years.
Gatwick has also been home to many former airlines including British Caledonian, Dan-Air, GB Airways, Monarch, XL airways and Zoom.
Gatwick has also welcomed Heads of State to the UK including French President Charles de Gaulle in 1961 and US President John F Kennedy in 1963.
So let’s take a look back at the airport’s history over the past sixty years:
