Redeveloped Pier 5 Opens at Gatwick After £80m in Upgrades
Jennifer Billock February 02, 2016
Gatwick airport has finally reopened Pier 5 for use after a lengthy and expensive redevelopment.
After £80 million worth of upgrades, Gatwick airport has finally reopened Pier 5 for airplane and customer use. This project was part of an overall £2 billion renovation program at the airport.
The new facility now has a second level so travelers can have separate arrival and departure routes. The airport says the new design “smooths passenger journeys and creates a more flexible and efficient operation for passengers and airlines.”
In addition to the new level, Pier 5 now has space for seven large planes, 12 small ones, or some combination of the two sizes. Each gate room has taken on a London-themed interior design.
According to airport numbers, this newly redesigned facility will allow for 30 more flights per day, which adds up to about 4,200 new passengers on a daily basis.
“Today, 40 million people choose Gatwick each year and we have achieved 34 successive months of growth,” Gatwick’s CEO Stewart Wingate said at the opening event, reported by Business Traveller. “To keep pace with this unprecedented growth, we need to be smart about how we work with our existing infrastructure while we wait for a Government decision on airport expansion. Our investment program is all about driving that growth, and Pier 5 will be a significant contributor, allowing us to handle greater volumes of aircraft and passengers.”
Other enhancements as part of the airport-wide project include a new North Terminal departures level that opened in October and airlines switching operations to different terminals in January.
[Photo: AP]
