Happy Birthday Gatwick!

The airport is South of London, is celebrating his 60th birthday. Birthday. Gatwicks runway was again and again renewed. For a second he didn't get up today.

The Queen herself gave the honor: 9. June 1958 Queen Elizabeth II flew in with a four-engined de Havilland Heron at Gatwick airport. It opened after about two and a half years of Work the Airport in its modern Form. The airport is to the South of the British capital was the first in the world with a direct rail connection. But he was soon on a Short runway.

Larger aircraft such as the Boeing 747-400 and soon accounted for the runway extensions needed: in 1964 it was expanded to include 370 to 2500 meters. 1970 267 meters were added again, and in 1973, the train grew to a length of 3098 meters. In 1984, the airport also received a new control tower and in the following year, took off for the first Time a Concorde in Gatwick.

Happy birthday bad news

In 1988, a second Terminal, and ten years later, the Airport is extended again, the slopes – arose in gatwick, this time to 3316 metres. Even otherwise, the airport continued to grow. In 2005, he received the 194 meters, the longest passenger bridge in the world, since 2012, the Emirates Gatwick to controls with the gigantic Airbus A380 and 2016, opened in the North Terminal, the world's largest plant for the Self-Check-in of Luggage.

However, one of the airport never got, not even the 60. Birthday: a second runway. Plans there are, and 2017, the airport wanted to implement this on your own, in order to cope with the growth in the long-haul. The government has just given the green light for a third runway at Heathrow is for Gatwick, however, is the opposite of a good character.

Number Two in the country

So Gatwick is referred to 60 years after the opening as "the most efficient One-runway Airport in the world," with 228 destinations in 74 countries. More than 45 million passengers per year, making the airport the second largest in the UK and the eight largest in Europe.

In the above image gallery to see some celebrities and Other important moments from Gatwicks history.

Posted by Jack at .