London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick is London's second airport and, for much of Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, the first choice. Two terminals, North and South, are joined by a free two-minute shuttle, and one railway station, under the South Terminal, runs trains into London around the clock. It handled 42.8 million passengers in 2025 and got more than 95% of them through security in under five minutes.
The 30-second version
Check your terminal first: easyJet, Emirates and Qatar Airways fly from North; British Airways, Ryanair, Jet2 and Vueling from South. All trains leave from the South Terminal, so from North take the free shuttle (two minutes, every few minutes, 24 hours). For the West End and Pimlico, the Gatwick Express runs non-stop to Victoria in about 30 minutes; for London Bridge, the City and King's Cross, take Thameslink and tap in with a contactless card. Flying out before 8am, book Fast Track security online from £6 and a lounge from £28.
Book a private transfer
Booked with
A driver meets you in arrivals with your name on a sign, at a fixed price agreed when you book. Booked and paid with Welcome Pickups through our partner Travelpayouts; we may earn a commission.
easyJet, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, JetBlue, WestJet, Icelandair, China Eastern, Air Arabia, Royal Air Maroc; TUI flights numbered TOM
No railway station: the free shuttle to the South Terminal takes two minutes and runs 24 hours. Plaza Premium, Plaza Express, No1, My Lounge and Clubrooms airside.
British Airways, Ryanair, Jet2, Vueling, Wizz Air, Norwegian, Turkish Airlines, Air France, TAP, Air India; TUI flights numbered BY
The railway station is here, about five minutes' walk from arrivals and departures. Club Aspire, No1, My Lounge (with an outdoor terrace) and Clubrooms airside.
Visitors from the EU, the US, Canada, Australia and most other visa-free countries need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation before boarding: £20 on the government's own site, and every traveller needs one, babies included. Irish passport holders do not.
British and Irish citizens, and visitors from the EU, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein with an ETA, can use the eGates with a biometric passport. Children from 8, at least 120cm tall and with an adult, can use them too. ID cards cannot. In a hurry, Fast Track passport control costs from £15 a person, 06:00 to midnight, booked online at least four hours ahead.
Collect your bags and walk through customs. Meat and dairy from the EU, sandwiches and cheese included, cannot come into Great Britain for personal use.
Cash machines and currency desks are in both terminals, before and after security, and the airport makes no charge at its ATMs. ChangeGroup runs 15 branches and about 70 cash machines across both terminals.
Landing at South, the station is about five minutes' walk. Landing at North, take the free shuttle first: two minutes, every few minutes, day and night. Tap in with a contactless card or Oyster for London; you need a paper or e-ticket for anywhere south of the airport.
National Express leaves from outside both terminals: North from stops 4 and 5 on the lower level outside International Arrivals, South from stops 1 to 5 on the lower forecourt, with ticket desks inside arrivals. Airport Cars Gatwick is the official private hire firm and can meet you in arrivals. Allow about 1 hour 45 minutes by road to King's Cross.
A pre-booked driver meets you in the arrivals hall. Give them your flight number and your terminal: the shuttle between the two takes two minutes, the drive much longer.
Gatwick's airlines are split between North and South, and TUI uses both depending on the flight number. Check before you leave the hotel. If you arrive by train you are already at South; North is a two-minute shuttle ride on.
Follow your airline's check-in time. Security itself is quick: in 2025 passengers got through in under five minutes more than 95% of the time. The bigger risk is the train, so allow for the journey and any engineering works, which are posted on the National Rail site.
From £6 a person online, £2 more if you buy it on the day; under-2s free. Both terminals, 04:00 to 20:00. Worth it for first-wave departures and school holidays. Families with pushchairs have their own lanes too, after check-in: follow the signs.
Gatwick's new scanners mean liquids and laptops stay in your bag, and containers of up to two litres are allowed through (not metal or double-walled ones). The rule is Gatwick's own: pack for the 100ml rule if your return airport has not caught up.
There are no outbound border checks in the UK. Your airline checks your passport at check-in or the gate, so go straight from security to the departure lounge.
Both terminals have a lounge for most budgets, from Plaza Express at £28 to Clubrooms at £44, with entry from three hours before departure. Gates appear on the screens; keep an eye on them, as they can change.
Passes marked Book a pass are sold through GetYourGuide, which shows the price, hours and terms before you pay; we may earn a commission.
Every lounge in detail
Table service and an à la carte menu: the closest thing to a restaurant with a departure board.
The South Terminal's quietest room, with waiter service: the one for a long lunch before a long flight.
A tended bar, a buffet and runway views; the sound all-rounder in either terminal.
Book a passHot and cold food included, family seating and, at South, the only outdoor terrace airside, where smoking is allowed.
A buffet, runway views and a kids' zone: the North Terminal pick for families.
Book a passThe cheapest seat away from the gates, with a buffet, drinks and a kids' zone.
Airfield views and quiet zones; a calm alternative to No1 in the South Terminal.
A private room with an en-suite shower, continental breakfast and the hotel gym after an overnight flight: you check in to London human.
The Breakfast ClubNorth, airside
The London café's full breakfasts and pancakes from the first flights; Priority Pass members can use it as a dining credit.
Shake ShackNorth, airside
Burgers, crinkle-cut fries and shakes, quick enough for a short connection.
Juniper & CoNorth, airside
A gin bar with proper food; another Priority Pass dining option.
Fever-Tree Bar & KitchenSouth, airside
Gin and tonics, as you would hope, and a kitchen menu to go with them.
Big SmokeSouth, airside
A taphouse and kitchen: a pint and a proper plate before you board.
GAIL'sSouth, airside
The London bakery: cinnamon buns, good coffee and sandwiches for the plane.
WondertreeSouth, airside
An all-day bar and restaurant in the South Terminal departure lounge, for a sit-down meal rather than a grab-and-go.
The BeehiveSouth, landside
A pub before security, useful for meeting people off a flight or waiting for a late check-in.
The hotel at London Gatwick
For an early flight, a late landing or a long wait: the one we would book.
The most complete hotel at Gatwick: a covered walk to North Terminal check-in, four places to eat and rooms that hold up for an early start. It is the one to book when you want a proper dinner and a quiet night before flying.
The walkway goes to the North Terminal; South Terminal flights mean a short ride on the free inter-terminal shuttle train.
Getting to the terminal
Linked to the North Terminal by a covered walkway, about 5 minutes on foot
All trains leave from the South Terminal; from North, the free shuttle takes two minutes and runs 24 hours. Gatwick Express runs non-stop to Victoria in about 30 minutes, twice an hour, and booking ahead online takes 10% off. Thameslink is the one for London Bridge, Blackfriars, Farringdon and St Pancras, with no change. Contactless and Oyster work for London but not for Brighton, Reading or anywhere south of the airport. Southern sells £2 tickets for children travelling with an adult, and groups of three or more save a third with GroupSave. Water fountains are after security in both terminals, and bars will fill your bottle for free.
Families with pushchairs have their own security lanes in both terminals, and there are free Kids Zones in both departure lounges. Baby feeding and changing rooms are in check-in, on the way to the gates and after passport control in arrivals. Boots will hold up to two tubs of baby milk for collection after security if you order online at least seven working days ahead. Plaza Premium and Plaza Express in North have kids' zones of their own; Clubrooms is adults only.
Book assistance through your airline at least 48 hours ahead, and book for your worst day if your condition varies. Each terminal has a drop-off reception with staff (or a phone to call them), help points at bus stops, terminal entrances and the short-stay car parks, and receptions before security and in the departure lounges. The railway station is fully step-free and staffed around the clock. The airport also lists accessible changing facilities and hearing loops among its support.
Excess Baggage Company runs it in both terminals, before security: North on Level 1 next to Costa, South on Level 2 behind check-in zone E, 04:00 to 22:00. Up to 3 hours costs £10, up to 24 hours £15, up to 48 hours £27.50 and up to 72 hours £40. There are no lockers.
UK261 covers flights from Gatwick. If your flight is delayed by two hours or more on a short flight (three hours for 1,500–3,500 km, four hours beyond that), the airline must give you food and drink, and a hotel if it runs overnight. Arrive three hours or more late and you can claim £220 for 1,500 km or less, £350 for 1,500–3,500 km and £520 beyond (£260 if three to four hours late), from the airline. If a cancellation leaves you stuck, the Your Service Centre in South Terminal check-in zone J or on level 2 of North can help with other travel.
Two hotels are joined to the terminals: Hampton by Hilton, a two-minute covered walk to North check-in, and BLOC, inside the South Terminal a minute from security. YOTEL is also inside South. Sofitel is a five-minute covered walk from North, and Hilton a ten-minute covered walk from South; Premier Inn is close by too. The shuttle between terminals, the chapels and prayer rooms and the railway station all run 24 hours, and National Express runs most services through the night.
Gatwick is well placed for the south and the centre. Victoria, on the Gatwick Express or Southern, is the stop for Artist Residence in Pimlico and a short taxi to Claridge's or Hazlitt's. Thameslink runs straight to London Bridge for Shangri-La The Shard and Sea Containers, to City Thameslink for The Ned, to Farringdon for the Elizabeth line west to Bond Street (The Zetter Marylebone) and Paddington (The Pilgrm), and to St Pancras, across the road from The Standard. Our transfers page has the door-to-door times and fares for each hotel.
Questions people ask
easyJet, Emirates and Qatar Airways use North; British Airways, Ryanair, Jet2, Vueling and Wizz Air use South. TUI flights numbered TOM use North and those numbered BY use South.
About 30 minutes non-stop to Victoria on the Gatwick Express, and 30 to 45 minutes on Southern or Thameslink. Trains leave on average every four minutes, all from the South Terminal.
Yes, contactless cards and Oyster work between Gatwick and London; tap in and out at the barriers. They do not work for Brighton, Reading or other stations outside London, where you need a ticket.
Take the free shuttle: it runs every few minutes, 24 hours a day, and takes two minutes.
Fast Track security is from £6 a person online (£2 more on the day), 04:00 to 20:00 in both terminals. Fast Track passport control on arrival is from £15, 06:00 to midnight, booked at least four hours ahead.
For table service, Clubrooms (from £44, adults only, Fast Track included). For value, No1 in either terminal (from £38) or Plaza Express in North (from £28). With children, Plaza Premium in North has a kids' zone.
No. Liquids and laptops stay in your bag, and containers up to two litres are allowed. Check your return airport's rules before you pack.
Yes, in both terminals before security, 04:00 to 22:00: £10 for up to 3 hours, £15 for up to 24 hours. There are no lockers.
Image credits: Chris Sampson (CC BY 2.0) · Sunil060902 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Peter Richardson (CC BY-SA 2.0) · David Wheatley (CC BY-SA 4.0)