Gatwick Airport: parking, terminals, transport and flights
The two terminals, the trains and coaches into London, parking, lounges, hotels and live flight boards, in one place. Find the terminal your airline uses, compare the ways into the city, and sort parking before you leave home, with prices and times taken from the operators and kept current.
Start anywhere
North or South? Find your terminal
Which terminal you need comes down to your airline, not your destination. Look yourself up in the airline-to-terminal guide, get your bearings on the airport map, or open a terminal below. The two are a kilometre apart and joined by a free two-minute shuttle, so arriving at the wrong one costs real time.
To and from London
| Service | Fare | Journey | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gatwick Express | £24.10 | 31 min | Non-stop to London Victoria, every 15 minutes |
| Thameslink | about £15 | from 30 min | Direct to London Bridge and St Pancras; contactless from £10.70 off-peak |
| Southern | about £15 | about 30 min | To Victoria via East Croydon and Clapham Junction |
| National Express coach | from £6 | 65 to 80 min | To Victoria Coach Station, close to 24 hours a day |
| Taxi or minicab | from £70 | 1 hour plus | Fixed private-hire fare to central London, longer at peak |
Fares as of July 2026; walk-up rail singles and coach advance fares, quoted as a guide. The full breakdown is on Gatwick to London, and for the airport-to-airport run see Gatwick to Heathrow.
Cheapest by stay length
Prices are drive-up rates as of July 2026; booking ahead saves up to 60%. Dropping someone instead of parking? The forecourt is £10 for up to 10 minutes, and the free wait is the long stay car park's first two hours. Check current parking promo codes before you book.
Where to stay near Gatwick
Two flagships connect to the terminals on foot, two micro-hotels sit inside the South Terminal, and the rest run free shuttles. Compare walk and shuttle times on the Gatwick hotels hub, or pair a room with a car park on hotels with parking.
Once you're airside
Get the queue done first: the new scanners take liquids in containers up to 2 litres, and hand luggage limits vary by airline. See security and the liquids rules before you pack.
Common Gatwick questions
Which terminal do I need at Gatwick?
It depends on your airline. easyJet flies only from the North Terminal and British Airways from the South Terminal; TUI splits by flight number, with BY flights at South and TOM flights at North. Around 35 airlines use the South Terminal and about 24 use the North. Allocations move, so check the terminal on your booking, or use the airline-to-terminal lookup.
What is the fastest way from Gatwick to central London?
Gatwick Express, non-stop to London Victoria in 31 minutes, every 15 minutes. Thameslink and Southern take a little longer but run direct to more places, including London Bridge, Farringdon and St Pancras on Thameslink, usually for less. Off-peak, a contactless single to a zone 1 station is about £10.70, well under the £24.10 Express fare.
How much is drop-off at Gatwick?
It is £10 for up to 10 minutes at either terminal forecourt, then £1 for each further minute up to a £30 maximum, with a 30-minute limit. There are no barriers: cameras read your number plate and you pay afterwards, online or by phone. The free alternative is the long stay car park, which gives two hours free with a shuttle bus to the terminal.
How many terminals does Gatwick have?
Two: the North Terminal and the South Terminal, separate buildings about a kilometre apart and linked by a free shuttle that takes around two minutes. The railway station is part of the South Terminal, so rail passengers arrive on the South side and ride the shuttle across if they are flying from North.
How early should I arrive at Gatwick?
At least two hours before departure, as the airport advises. Check-in desks usually open four hours before long-haul flights, three hours before European ones and two hours before UK and Ireland flights, and close around 45 minutes before departure. Allow more on early-morning peaks, when the short-haul departure banks leave together.
What is the cheapest way to get to Gatwick from London?
Off-peak, a contactless or Oyster pay-as-you-go single from a zone 1 station to Gatwick is about £10.70 on Southern or Thameslink, cheaper than the walk-up paper single and well below the Gatwick Express. The National Express coach from Victoria can cost less again, from about £6 booked ahead, though it takes about an hour and a quarter.