As Gatwick continues to assert it’s independance over BAA and get it’s own identity, a welcome peice of news has arrived from Crawley Borough Council (the area Gatwick is based in) to allow operation of A380’s through LGW.
This now puts it on par with Heathrow and Manchester as one of the few places that A380’s can operate from without special permission.
Of course, to home these beasts at the gate, two gates are now “A380 ready”, allowing Gatwick to open up discussions with A380 operators.
The quote from Stewart Wingate (Gatwick Airport CEO) is aid:
“The Airbus A380 represents the future of long-haul aviation. It’s modern, more efficient and uses less fuel per passenger and we want Gatwick to be at the centre of this exciting new era of long-haul travel.
“We are pouring £1 billion into Gatwick to improve the infrastructure, modernise the airport facilities, improve customer service, bolster the rail links and drive competitive rates for airlines to encourage more passengers and airlines to the airport. If we can bring the A380 and other large aircraft to Gatwick, passengers will have even more reason to choose to fly to and from our airport and help us on our journey to becoming the London airport of choice.”
Gatwicks position makes it a natural base for the South East of England, and agreement like this will help the airport forge it’s own way. All it now has to do is convince the A380 operators to come to their airport……
