London Gatwick Airport traces its commercial roots to May 17, 1936, when a Jersey Airways de Havilland DH.86 became the first scheduled departure from the Beehive, the world's first circular airport terminal, designed by architects Hoar, Marlow and Lovett to the concept of owner Morris Jackaman. The Beehive integrated a direct subway link to Gatwick railway station, allowing passengers to travel from London Victoria to their aircraft without stepping outside. That connection between air and rail has remained central to the airport's identity ever since. The facility was requisitioned during the Second World War as RAF Gatwick, returning to civilian use in 1946. A comprehensive reconstruction followed: the airport closed in 1956 and reopened on June 9, 1958, officially inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II. The rebuilt terminal, now the South Terminal, was among the world's first enclosed pier-based facilities, and the first airport to fully integrate air, rail, and road access in a single complex.

Situated 30 miles south of central London in West Sussex, near the town of Crawley, LGW is the UK's second-busiest airport. In 2024 it handled 43.2 million passengers, with a record 57 carriers operating from its 2 terminals that year. The airport operates on a single active main runway of 3,316 metres, a constraint that has paradoxically become a point of distinction: it is widely recognised as the world's busiest single-runway airport. EasyJet is its largest operator by seat capacity, using the North Terminal as its primary base, while British Airways operates short-haul services from the South Terminal. Long-haul carriers including Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Norse Atlantic have established footholds at LGW, drawn by lower slot costs and access to London's southern catchment. A Northern Runway development project, granted planning approval in September 2025, aims to bring a second runway into routine use and push annual capacity toward 75 million passengers.