| 1931 | Gatwick’s airport business actually got its start as Surrey Aero Club, a small flying club which happened to be at the right place at the right time. There was a popular race course nearby, and jockeys and viewers preferred to arrive by plane for meetings at the race track.
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| 1932 | Gatwick was sold to Mr. F. Bezner of the Redwing Company. Mr. Bezner was the manufacturer of a side-by-side two-seater plane.
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| 1933 | Mr. Bezner sold the Gatwick land to Morris Jackaman. |
| 1934 |
Airports Limited was founded. Gatwick got a licence from the Air Ministry to receive commercial air traffic.
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| 1935 | A merger of Spartan Airways, Hillman’s Airways and United Airways was formed into the Allied British Airways Ltd. This was the first airline to operate out of Gatwick. At the same time, the first official rail passengers began arriving at Gatwick as the Victoria to Brighton line was now making stops at Gatwick’s new rail station.
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| 1936 | The official opening of The Beehive, the world’s first circular terminal occurred. Among the features of the Beehive was a subway which allowed passengers to go from train to plane without getting wet. Regular scheduled flights began from Gatwick to Paris, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Malmo and the Isle of Wight this same year.
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| War years | The Air Ministry used Gatwick Airport and added part of the racetrack to the airport. This addition remained a part of Gatwick Airport after the war ended.
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| 1952 | The beginning of a three year closure of Gatwick Airport began. It had been approved by the British government to be an alternative to Heathrow Airport and had to close to make significant changes.
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| 1958 | Her Majesty The Queen officially reopened Gatwick after completion of the 7.8 million pound development. It was the first international airport to offer air, rail and highway transport in a single unit.
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| 1962 | Work to enlarge the airport began. This included doubling the size of the terminal and the construction of two more piers.
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| 1982 | The first visit by a Pope to the UK occurred, with the Pope arriving at Gatwick Airport.
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| 1983 | More construction began at the airport with the building of a second terminal. This ‘North’ terminal was the largest single construction project to be undertaken in South London in the 1980s.
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| 1984 | Princess Michael of Kent officially opened the new Air Traffic Control Tower, which is one of the tallest in Europe. Also, Gatwick Express began, giving a non-stop journey from Victoria to the airport.
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| 1985 | Construction on the northern runway began. It was planned as an alternative to the main runway in case of an emergency.
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| 1987 | 1.35 million people rushed to buy shares in Gatwick Airport when it appeared on the stock exchange.
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| 1988 | Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh officiated at the opening of the new North Terminal which had cost 200 million pounds.
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| 1991 | A second pier was opened at Gatwick. |
| 1994 | The International Departure Lounge in the North Terminal as well as Phase I of the International Departure Lounge in the South Terminal opened.
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| 2000 | A 29.5 million pound extension to the International Departure Lounge in the South Terminal opened with new shops and restaurants plus greater seating capacity.
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| 2001 | North Terminal’s International Departure Lounge enlarged, providing more shops, seating and restaurants.
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Although the history of Gatwick International Airport begins in 1931 with a flying club, the history of the name ‘Gatwick’ began centuries earlier when the land was owned by Richard de Warwick who signed it over to John de Gatwick. Although the land changed hands many times in the 700 years before becoming an airport, the name remained attached to the land. The name was used forty years before the airport’s beginning when the land was used as a race track known as Gatwick Race Horse Company.
