London Gatwick proves fastest route to the capital in social media challenge
- London Gatwick has launched a social media challenge to highlight the airport’s speed and connectivity to the capital.
- Teams raced each other from four different London airports to see who had the quickest journey, with London Gatwick beating the other teams by 20 minutes.
- London Gatwick’s vision is to be the airport for everyone, whatever your journey.
A new social media challenge has showcased the speed and connectivity of getting from London Gatwick into the heart of the capital.
Teams filmed themselves travelling to a bar near St Paul’s Cathedral by train from four different London airports, in a race to see who had the quickest journey.
The teams all set off at the same time and filmed their journeys to document their progress. The video has been posted on London Gatwick’s social media channels.
The stunt revealed the fastest train journey was 47 minutes from London Gatwick, using the direct Thameslink service, which was 22 minutes faster than from any of the other starting locations.
Passengers can travel from Gatwick to the centre of London in just 30 minutes, with a train leaving every four minutes - as frequent as the London Underground. It is easy to pay with contactless and Oyster options available. With the largest rail catchment of any UK airport, passengers can also travel directly by train from London Gatwick to Brighton, Cambridge, Guildford, Southampton and Reading alongside numerous other destinations.
In 2023 a refurbished Gatwick Airport train station opened to passengers, improving the experience as they pass through a bigger, better and brighter new concourse. The fully accessible station concourse has doubled in size, has wider platforms, with eight new lifts and five new escalators.
Simon Brady, Head of Marketing, London Gatwick said: “The video is a fun way of showcasing the ease and speed of reaching central London from Gatwick, with some healthy competition.
“Our vision is to the airport for everyone, whatever your journey. When you see how connected Gatwick is to London, and how quick the journey can be, we are the obvious choice for passengers in the region and beyond.”
London Gatwick is investing in its long-term future. The examination phase of the airport’s planning application to bring its existing Northern Runway into routine use has now concluded, with a decision expected to follow in early 2025. London Gatwick’s low-impact plan will improve resilience, reduce delays, and provide a significant boost to the national and regional economy by supporting trade, tourism, and new jobs.
With 41 million annual passengers, London Gatwick is the UK’s second largest and one of Europe’s top ten airports. It is a vital piece of national infrastructure that drives both the national and regional economies by generating £5.5 billion GVA and supporting over 76,000 jobs (2023). Almost 60 airlines fly from the airport to over 150 short-haul and more than 50 long-haul destinations. With a declared capacity of 55 movements an hour, London Gatwick is the most efficient single runway airport in the world.
The airport is located 28 miles south of the UK capital and is extremely well-connected, with more than a quarter of England’s population (15 million people) – including all of London – less than one hour away by road or rail. A six-year, £2 billion sustainable growth programme includes an ambitious plan to be a net zero airport by 2030 and to increase capacity by bringing the airport’s existing Northern Runway into routine use, alongside its Main Runway. Vinci Airports owns a 50.01% stake in the airport, with Global Infrastructure Partners managing the remaining 49.99%.
The world’s leading private airport operator, VINCI Airports operates more than 70 airports in 14 countries. Thanks to its expertise as a global integrator, VINCI Airports develops, finances, builds and manages airports by providing its investment capacity and its know-how in optimizing operational performance, modernizing infrastructure and managing their operations and environmental transition. VINCI Airports is the first airport operator to have committed to an international environmental strategy in 2016, to achieve the goal of net zero emissions across its entire network by 2050.
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