Gatwick Airport has created new safety guidelines for passengers as it prepares to reopen its North Terminal on Monday.
Operating hours at the airport will also increase to 06:00-22:00 from June 15 as easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Belavia, Vueling and Blue Island restart operations from the terminal.
Gatwick announced in March that it would temporarily close the North Terminal due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on operations.
Gatwick safety measures
Ahead of the reopening, the airport has introduced measures including:
- Face masks to be compulsory within the airport, with face mask vending machines available on-site. Gatwick staff will also wear face coverings in passenger-facing areas of the terminals.
- Encouraging good hand hygiene with ample hand washing facilities and hand sanitising stations – including touch-free models – throughout.
- Frequent, enhanced deep cleaning of common-use surfaces throughout the airport with dedicated teams visible to respond to any passenger concerns on cleanliness.
- Social distancing procedures in place at check-in, security, gate rooms, seating in departure halls and in restaurants, bars and shops.
- The installation of Perspex screens throughout the terminals, including check-in desks, and gate rooms.
Stewart Wingate, chief executive, said: “Having remained open throughout this pandemic the wellbeing and safety of our passengers and everyone that works at the airport remains our top priority.
“We have introduced a range of new social distancing and hygiene solutions to help this happen so we can all help protect each other when travelling through the airport. We want people to understand that airports and air travel is a safe environment in this Covid-19 travelling world.”
He added: “We are pleased to be in a position to re-open the North Terminal and we look forward to welcoming back easyJet as they restart flights alongside our other airlines. The recent government announcement regarding the 14-day quarantine period for passengers arriving into the UK is, in our opinion, already having an impact on the start of air travel recovery.
“We accept the Government’s absolute priority is the protection of public health, but we continue to push for regular, country by country reviews of quarantine regulations, based on medical evidence.”
More: Regional airports firm outlines new health measures
