The London Gatwick airport is the second largest airport of UK and the busiest single runway airport of the world. This airport it the sixth busiest international airport that has been in operation for over 70 years and now has 70 airlines flying to over 200 places across the world.
The Gatwick airport is a very innovative one where its first innovation was a direct link from the airport to the nearby rail station. The second innovation of the airport is a covered pier built from the Terminal to the airport stands.
All the innovations of the airport concentrate on providing better service to the more than 31 million passengers using the airport every year. Though the airport authorities are very keen to construct a second runway for the airport, they are facing strong opposition from local residents and environmentalists.
Gatwick airport has two Terminals, the North and South Terminal where the North Terminal is used by numerous airlines and the South Terminal, mainly by British airways. However this is just a general outlook on the functioning of the airport; it is always better to first check to find out where your flight is departing from if you have a flight from the airport.
There is a free 'transit' or light railway connecting the two Terminals which takes about five minutes. These trips are available at intervals of five minutes between the Terminals and so if you have the time, you can always take the transit to explore the other Terminal. Similar transit connects the South Terminal to a satellite building that is only accessible by passengers.
However there are ATMs, duty free shops, restaurants, bars and shops in both the Terminals. The shops here include electrical goods shop, a bookshop, a shoe shop, clothing shops, a pharmacy, a music shop, sports shop, gift shop and newsagents.
There is also a bureaux de change where you can get stamps and a post office in the South Terminal. Vaccinations are offered in an adjacent medical center at Ashdown House. If you have kids, there are baby changing rooms and free of charge children play areas for children between 2-6 years in the airport.