Gatwick North Terminal: A Complete Passenger Guide

What Changed at Gatwick in 2026?

Start here, because it explains why terminal errors have gone up rather than down at an airport people have used for years.

Three carriers changed terminal during 2026. The two that matter most to the largest number of passengers are easyJet, which consolidated its Gatwick operation exclusively at North in March, and Jet2, which launched at Gatwick from South in the same month. A habit formed on a 2025 trip is now actively misleading.

The lesson generalises beyond these three. Terminal allocation belongs to the flight, not to the airline. A carrier can run European routes from one building and long-haul from the other, and allocations shift with schedules and seasons. Your boarding pass describes your flight; an airline homepage describes the airline.

Which Airlines Use Gatwick North Terminal?

North is easyJet's home and the base for most of Gatwick's long-haul operation. It is the newer of the two buildings, opened in 1988, and is built around a single large security hall.

South Terminal, by contrast, handles British Airways in full, Jet2 since March 2026, Wizz Air, Vueling, TAP Portugal and most TUI services — our Gatwick transfers page covers both buildings.

That last point is worth flagging because older guidance circulating online still splits TUI by flight prefix. Treat any such rule as historical: check the actual flight rather than applying a formula, because the carrier's terminal split has moved.

What Happens If You Go to the Wrong Terminal?

The answer splits sharply depending on whether you have cleared security, and the second version is the one that ruins mornings.

The middle row is the one people underestimate. Gatwick has no airside link between its terminals — none, at any hour. Once you are through security in the wrong building, the only route is backwards: out through the exit, onto the shuttle, and into a second security queue that has no interest in how long you have already waited.

Landside, the same discovery is trivial. Follow the red inter-terminal transit signs, ride two minutes, carry on. No re-screening is needed for a landside crossing before check-in.

How Does the Inter-Terminal Shuttle Work?

An automated shuttle train links the two terminals. It is free, it runs every few minutes around the clock, and the ride itself takes about two minutes.

The gap between the two-minute ride and the ten-to-fifteen-minute reality is walking. Reaching the platform at North means getting to the first floor; at South it is a short walk from the station barriers, which is convenient if you have arrived by train and a detour if you have not.

Allow more if you are travelling with children, heavy luggage or reduced mobility, and considerably more if you have a tight onward connection. The shuttle is reliable; the walk either side is what varies.

Is the Train Station at North Terminal?

It is not, and this single fact accounts for more confusion at Gatwick than any other.

Gatwick Airport railway station sits beneath the South Terminal. Every service arrives there — the Gatwick Express to London Victoria in roughly thirty minutes, Thameslink and Southern to St Pancras, London Bridge and other central stations in about forty to fifty-five minutes at a lower fare. There is no station under North.

For a solo traveller with hand luggage the shuttle is a minor addition. For a family with cases, or anyone arriving on a late flight, it is a genuine consideration — particularly since the trains themselves thin out considerably after midnight while the shuttle keeps running.

How Do You Reach North Terminal by Road?

The terminal postcode is RH6 0PH. The Short Stay car parks carry their own postcode, RH6 0PJ, which is the one to use if you are collecting rather than dropping.

Drivers leave the M23 at Junction 9 and follow signs for London Gatwick, then North Terminal. The two terminals have separate approach roads and the motorway signage looks similar at speed, which is where a fair share of wrong-terminal arrivals begin rather than at the airline stage.

The approach from Junction 9 splits before the terminals, and that split is the decision point. Once committed to the North spur there is no turning across; correcting it means rejoining the perimeter road and coming back in, which is where the second forecourt charge appears.

For a driver dropping someone off, the practical advice is to confirm the terminal aloud in the car before joining the M23 rather than at the split. Reading it off a boarding pass at 60mph is not a plan.

What Does Drop-Off and Pick-Up Cost?

Gatwick charges for stopping at the terminal forecourt, and the 2026 figure is higher than many passengers expect.

Ten pounds on a short stop is what makes the forecourt the expensive option for anything other than a genuinely brief handover. For a collection where the flight might be late, Long Stay with its free two hours is both cheaper and calmer, at the cost of a shuttle bus ride.

Book ahead with us and that levy is already inside the number you agreed, not waiting at the barrier. That is worth checking against any quote you compare, because a figure that looks £8 lower can finish £2 higher. Our full breakdown of every UK airport sits in the drop-off charges guide, and the Gatwick-specific detail is in the pick-up and parking guide.

Where Do Taxis Collect From at North Terminal?

This depends entirely on who you booked with, which is why confirming the arrangement beforehand matters more than knowing the car park layout.

On a pre-booked job the driver stands in the hall holding your name rather than directing you out to a car park. That removes the car park question entirely and matters most to exactly the passengers who find airports hardest: groups, families, anyone with several cases and anyone arriving in the UK for the first time.

Gatwick has its own designated official operator, and other licensed private hire firms serve the airport under the airport's pick-up arrangements. Whichever you use, confirm the meeting procedure at booking rather than after landing.

How Long After Landing Will You Actually Emerge?

Landing time is not exit time, and the gap between them is where most collection problems start.

After touchdown the aircraft still has to taxi to a stand. Then disembarking, the walk through the terminal, immigration, the baggage belt and customs. At North Terminal the walk is a real factor rather than a formality — the 100-series gates on Pier 6 are considerably further from arrivals than the numbers suggest.

Giving your driver the flight number is what makes this manageable. The inbound is then tracked from its departure airport and the collection follows the actual landing rather than the timetable, with waiting time counted from touchdown so the queue costs you nothing.

What Happens at Check-In and Security?

North Terminal is built around a single large security hall, which simplifies the layout considerably compared with airports that split screening across several halls.

Before you queue

Have the passport, boarding pass, booking reference and any visa documents accessible rather than buried. Screenshot the boarding pass the night before — terminal, gate deadline and seat number all survive a flat battery or an absent signal, which a live app does not.

Bag drop and luggage

Confirm your airline's allowance, weight limit and bag-drop closing time before travelling. Weighing cases at home is quicker than rearranging them on a terminal floor. If you are using a transfer, tell the operator how many large suitcases you have alongside the passenger count — five people with five hold cases is a different vehicle from five people with hand baggage, and the vehicle capacity guide sets out where each class runs out.

Security

Gatwick runs CT scanner lanes, which are faster for passengers who do not need to unpack. Screening rules on liquids and electronics have moved in recent years and can change again, so check current guidance rather than relying on what applied on your last trip.

After security — and the thing that catches people

Gatwick does not normally make boarding announcements. There is no tannoy calling your flight. Boarding commonly opens between 45 minutes and an hour before departure, and the information screens are your only source of gate detail.

That matters more at North than it sounds, because the far gates are genuinely far. The 100-series stands on Pier 6 involve a walk that surprises people who have settled into a restaurant on the assumption that the gate is minutes away. Check the gate first, then decide how long you have.

Can You Skip the Security Queue?

Yes, and there are three separate mechanisms, which is more than most passengers realise.

Fast Track runs at both terminals and can be bought in advance through Gatwick's app. The advice worth passing on is to buy it the night before during school holidays rather than deciding at the terminal, because availability and price both move with demand and the moment you can see the queue is the moment it costs most.

The family lane is free and considerably under-used. Anyone travelling with young children is entitled to it, and the difference on a busy morning is not marginal — a standard lane with a buggy, a bottle of formula and a child who wants to hold their own tray is slow for everyone including you.

How Long Is the Walk to Your Gate?

North Terminal has a genuine distance problem at its far stands, and the gate number tells you which situation you are in.

Pier 6 is reached by a 197-metre bridge that spans an active taxiway — the largest air passenger bridge of its kind in the world, and an impressive piece of engineering to be crossing at speed because you left the restaurant too late.

The rule that follows is simple and worth actually applying: start walking as soon as your gate appears on the screen, not when boarding is called. Gatwick makes no boarding announcements, so nothing will prompt you, and eighteen minutes of walking added to a gate that closes on schedule leaves very little room.

Which Lounges Are at North Terminal?

Several lounge options sit after security, and the sensible question is not which is best but which is open when you are there.

Is a lounge worth it?

It depends almost entirely on how long you will be there. Two hours in the main terminal with a family is a different proposition from forty minutes alone. A lounge earns its cost when you arrive early, when you need reliable Wi-Fi and power, when you are travelling with children who need somewhere contained, or when a long wait is unavoidable. For a short stay it rarely does.

What Facilities Does North Terminal Have?

Beyond the obvious food and shops, several services exist that passengers usually only look for once they need them.

Food and shopping

Around fifteen cafés and restaurants operate across the terminal, ranging from sit-down dining to coffee and grab-and-go. Retail runs from duty free and travel essentials through high street names to beauty, fashion, electronics and books.

Two practical notes. Early-morning departures should check individual opening hours, because outlets do not all open with the first flights. And anything bought before boarding still counts towards your airline's cabin baggage allowance — a duty free purchase is not exempt from a hand luggage limit.

Smoking and vaping

Gatwick operates a strict no-smoking policy throughout both terminals, and it covers cigarettes, cigars, pipes, e-cigarettes and vapes alike. There is no airside smoking area at North Terminal, which means anyone who smokes should plan around that rather than discover it after clearing security.

What Should Families Know Before Travelling?

A large airport with children requires planning that has nothing to do with the airport itself.

Before leaving home, work out what happens to the pushchair, whether milk and baby food comply with current screening rules, and which toys survive being carried. Build in more time than seems necessary for security and for toilet breaks, and find seating before boarding rather than after the gate is called.

Plaza Premium and Plaza Express both include children's areas, which makes them more useful for families than a quieter lounge would be. Whether that justifies the entry cost depends on the wait ahead of you.

How Do You Arrange Special Assistance?

Assistance at Gatwick is arranged through the airline rather than the airport, and it should be requested before travel day rather than on arrival.

Wheelchair assistance, mobility support, help with luggage and additional boarding assistance are all available, and Gatwick publishes detailed accessibility guides covering North Terminal routes. The earlier the request, the more reliably it is resourced.

On the transport side, tell whoever you book about mobility equipment specifically rather than describing it as luggage. A folding wheelchair, a mobility scooter and a walking frame all occupy different space and some need a particular vehicle type. Raising it at the quote stage means the right vehicle is allocated; raising it on the morning means finding out whether one is free.

The distinction that matters is that terminal assistance and vehicle arrangements are two separate bookings with two separate providers. Arranging one does not arrange the other, and passengers who assume the airline has passed the information to their taxi company are frequently disappointed.

Gatwick publishes detailed step-by-step accessibility guides covering North Terminal routes, including where lifts sit relative to check-in and security. For anyone planning a journey with mobility constraints, reading those before travel day is more useful than any general advice, because they describe the actual building rather than airports in general.

How Do You Get From North Terminal to Your Destination?

The three destinations we run most often from North, and what each involves.

North Terminal to central London

Roughly forty miles. By rail it is the shuttle to South, then Gatwick Express or Thameslink, then whatever gets you from the terminus to your address. By road it is one vehicle from the arrivals hall to the door. The gap between those two matters most when you are carrying a fortnight's luggage or travelling as a group, which is why pre-booked transfers dominate this route rather than trains.

North Terminal to Brighton

About thirty miles down the A23 and M23, typically inside the hour. Rail serves Brighton but most addresses there need a change plus a walk at the far end. For hotels on the seafront and university accommodation the road option removes both.

North Terminal to Croydon

The shortest of the three at roughly twenty-five miles. Close enough that groups often assume several cars will do; far enough that the vehicles cost more between them than one would and arrive at different times.

Journey times on all three vary considerably with traffic and the exact destination, so treat any single figure with caution. What does not vary on a pre-booked fare is the price — congestion becomes our problem rather than yours.

Is an Airport Hotel Worth It Before an Early Flight?

An airport hotel earns its cost in a narrow set of circumstances, and it is worth being clear about which.

The Sofitel's covered walkway is the detail that separates it from the rest. Walking from your room to check-in without stepping outside is worth relatively little in July and a great deal in January with cases and children at half past five in the morning. Whether that justifies the premium depends on the month as much as the budget.

If your hotel sits beside the opposite terminal, the free shuttle covers the gap — but allow the full 10 to 15 minutes rather than the two-minute ride time, and rather more if you are moving luggage at an hour when you are not at your sharpest.

Against that, a pre-booked transfer at 03:45 costs the same as one at 15:45 — there is no overnight loading and no surge — so for many groups the early collection is cheaper than the hotel night it replaces.

What Should You Check Before and After Flying?

Two short lists, one for each direction, covering the things that actually go wrong rather than everything that could.

Which Mistakes Cost the Most Time?

Six recurring errors, ordered by how much they cost when they happen.

The first row deserves its position. Forty-five to sixty minutes is not a delay you absorb; on most short-haul departures it is the whole margin between arriving comfortably and missing the gate. And it is entirely self-inflicted, because the information needed to avoid it was printed on the boarding pass before anyone left home.

The fifth row is the one that costs money rather than time. A booking placed as "five passengers" when the group has five hold cases produces a vehicle that seats everyone and cannot carry their luggage. The correction on the morning means either a second vehicle at short notice or a party rearranging bags on a pavement, and neither is quick.

What links most of these is the same habit: assuming that what was true on a previous trip is true now. Terminal allocations moved in 2026, the drop-off charge rose in January, and lounge hours change several times a year. Checking takes two minutes and removes all six.