London Gatwick Airport has unveiled plans to invest approximately £1.1bn in expanding facilities over the next five years to support airline growth and enhance the airport experience for passengers.
Under the new five-year Capital Investment Plan (CIP), which was announced by Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate at the British-Irish Airports Expo in London, the airport will spend £1.11bn up to 2023, with £266m planned for 2018/19 alone.
The airport stated that it will continue growing its long-haul operation and expects passenger numbers to increase to about 53 million by 2023.
Since the airport’s change in ownership in December 2009, the total investment combined with this new plan has increased to £3.14bn.
Wingate said: “Gatwick is a major piece of national infrastructure, and our continued growth and ability to attract long-haul airlines is vital for the health of the UK economy, particularly in a post-Brexit world.
“We are exploring ways to grow our capacity, including developing new systems and processes to handle more passengers, and considering how we use all our existing infrastructure in the future.
“This year we will welcome new quieter aircraft with the introduction of A321s by easyJet and we are developing our infrastructure now, by reconfiguring airfield stands and planning for the construction of a major extension to our Pier 6 facility.”
The expansion plan includes the extension of Pier 6 that will involve the widening and reconfiguration of a taxiway to accommodate the 80m wingspan of the A380.
Under the plan, the airport plans to construct a new domestic arrivals facility including a new baggage reclaim in South Terminal, in addition to developing a new mezzanine-level extension in the North Terminal departure lounge to accommodate new restaurants.
The plan also includes the trial of biometric auto-boarding technology in the North Terminal and extending the roll-out of self-service bag drop across both Terminals.
Additionally, Gatwick will focus on completing the South Terminal long stay car park decking project that will provide space to park an additional 1,200 cars.
