Gatwick celebrates half century

About 25 miles of concrete were laid for the new airport

Gatwick is marking 50 years since it opened as one of the UK's major international airports.

It was opened by the Queen in 1958 following a £7.8m development, making it the first airport to combine air, rail and road transport links.

Gatwick is now the sixth largest airport in the world, handling about 33 million passengers a year.

However, celebrations have been marred by the transport link between the north and south terminals breaking down.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, the Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex, Hugh Wyatt, read a message from the Queen at a business breakfast attended by over 100 guests representing airlines, business and local dignitaries.

'Passengers at heart'

Gatwick started in the 1930s as the Surrey Aero Club and in 1956 building began on what was then called The New London Airport.

About 25 miles of concrete including the runway and taxiways, terminal apron and roads were laid.

Gatwick, now owned by BAA, is estimated to bring jobs to around 25,000 people in the South East.

The Gatwick Diamond business area, which stretches from Woking to Tunbridge Wells and from Croydon to Brighton, has a total annual turnover of around £13bn.

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Archive footage of Gatwick Airport

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said: "The success of Gatwick Airport is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the people who work here. When it opened, the terminal was innovative in design and put passengers at its heart.

"We remain true to that principle today and have plans in place to invest significantly to revitalise Gatwick."

An £874m investment is planned for the next five years, including increased capacity in both terminals, a new baggage system in south terminal, improving the transport interchange.

Laura Moffatt, Labour MP for Crawley, said: " Many of Crawley's 'new towners', who settled here after the war, will remember the South Terminal being built.

"They will have witnessed for themselves the impact that Gatwick has had and the prosperity it has brought to the area we now call the Gatwick Diamond."

She added: "Gatwick has been the lifeblood of Crawley for half a century now and I know that we all want to see that continue in the years to come."