Timeline of Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport was in Surrey until 1974, when it became part of West Sussex as a result of a county boundary change.

The original, pre-World War II airport was built on the site of a manor in the parish of Charlwood.

The land was first used as an aerodrome in the 1920s, and in 1933 commercial flights there were approved by the Air Ministry.

Royal Air Force Squadrons: Royal Air Force units: These and other planned improvements are designed to enable the airport to handle 53 million passengers by 2023.

[170]

Old map of Gatwick Airport area
Gatwick Airport area in about 1925, with airport boundary in green. Gatwick Manor is at the northwest end of the racecourse. The modern runway runs roughly from the racecourse to the lane junction at Hydefield Farm, southeast of Charlwood .
Biplane at terminal at night, with people in background
British Airways Ltd. DH.86 at the Beehive terminal building in 1936
BEA Bristol Sycamore helicopter at its Gatwick base in 1955.
Small planes parked next to a runway, with terminal building in background
Gatwick in 1961
The main passenger terminal at Gatwick in 1964 taken from one of the two piers looking SE.
Planes lined up at a terminal
Airport apron in 1970
Plane on tarmac, with other planes in the background
Apron in 1973
Braniff Boeing 747-127 N601BN. The aircraft was nicknamed "Big Orange" and flew into Gatwick from Dallas–Fort Worth between 1978 and 1982.
Larger planes lined up at a terminal
Apron in 1981 (note the prominence of wide-bodied aircraft)
Planes on tarmac
Gatwick in 1984, with the new control tower in background
Two planes—one on the tarmac and the other landing
A Dan-Air Boeing 727-200 Advanced and Garuda Indonesia Boeing 747-200B at Gatwick in 1990
Long, enclosed bridge
The bridge to Pier 6 in the North Terminal opened in 2005.
An Emirates Airbus A380 at Gatwick in 2013