Gatwick Airport postcode: the right one for every terminal, drop-off and car park

Gatwick has two terminals and two sat-nav postcodes. Use RH6 0NP for the South Terminal and RH6 0PJ for the North Terminal. Each is a large-user postcode, the kind assigned to a single big destination rather than a street, so it drops you at the right forecourt rather than somewhere in the middle of the airport. RH6 0NP is quoted more often because it doubles as the general airport postcode, but that does not make it the right one for a North Terminal flight.

The code you want is the code for your terminal, and the terminal is set by your airline, not by which one you used last time. easyJet flies only from the North Terminal at Gatwick, so its passengers need RH6 0PJ; British Airways uses the South Terminal, so its passengers need RH6 0NP. Allocations move, so check the terminal printed on your boarding pass or booking, and if you are unsure, the terminal lookup settles it by airline in one scan.

Getting this right matters more here than at a single-terminal airport. The North Terminal and the South Terminal are separate buildings, and their forecourts and car parks are not interchangeable. Arrive at the wrong one with luggage and the fix is the free inter-terminal shuttle, about two minutes each way, or a loop back around the perimeter road by car. Neither is a disaster, but both cost time you would rather spend before a flight.

If you have booked a car park, the postcode on your confirmation email beats both terminal codes, and you should use it. This is most important for long stay, because the long stay sites sit away from the terminals on the airport perimeter and have their own access points. The South Terminal long stay car park has its own postcode, RH6 0NY. For North Terminal long stay the airport states plainly that there is no accurate postcode, and recommends following the road signs from the M23 rather than a sat-nav pin, so the RH6 0RN that some parking sites quote is unofficial and can mislead.

Short stay and premium parking sit next to each terminal, so the terminal postcode gets you there: RH6 0PJ for North, RH6 0NP for South, then follow signs to the car park number on your booking. To compare the car parks by price and walking time before you drive, the full parking guide lays them out, and the long stay page covers the transfer buses in detail.

Dropping someone off rather than parking? The drop-off forecourts share the terminal sat-nav postcodes, RH6 0PJ for the North Terminal and RH6 0NP for the South Terminal. They are charged, and the charge is easy to trip over if you expect a free kerbside pull-in, so the drop-off page explains what it costs, how to pay it, and the free alternative in the long stay car park.

Gatwick is one of the easier major airports to reach by car because it has its own motorway spur. The airport is linked directly to the M23 at Junction 9, and to the A23 London to Brighton road; from the M25, leave at Junction 7 and follow the M23 south, about a 10-minute run. It sits about 28 miles south of central London, so from most of the capital the drive is motorway most of the way.

Whichever postcode you use, trust the airport's own signs over the sat nav for the last half mile. The approach roads split by terminal and by purpose (drop-off, short stay, long stay, car hire return), and those splits are signed at the roadside in a way postcode navigation does not always capture. Follow the sat nav to the airport, then read the gantry signs for your terminal and your car park number. The driving guide covers the approach and the forecourt rules in full, and the airport map shows how the terminals, car parks and station sit on the ground.

Gatwick has two airport codes, and they do different jobs. LGW is the IATA code, the three-letter one you see on tickets, boarding passes, bag tags and the arrivals and departures boards. If a label on your suitcase reads LGW, it is routed to Gatwick. EGKK is the ICAO code, four letters, used for flight plans, air traffic control and aviation paperwork; it almost never appears on anything a passenger handles.

For booking a flight, quoting your route, or checking a bag tag, LGW is the code you need. The E prefix on EGKK marks it as a Northern European airport under the ICAO scheme, with the K identifying the UK, which is why nearby airports share the pattern. You will not normally need EGKK, but it is worth recognising if you see it on a tracking site or a pilot's flight plan.

For post, the airport's address is London Gatwick Airport, Gatwick, West Sussex, RH6 0NP. That is the general code again, so a letter addressed with RH6 0NP reaches the airport. Individual businesses, hotels and car parks on and around the airport have their own postcodes, so if you are writing to a specific company use theirs rather than the airport's.

Gatwick sits in West Sussex, in the Borough of Crawley, on the boundary with Surrey, roughly 28 miles south of central London. For anyone plotting it on a map, the coordinates are about 51.1481° N, 0.1903° W, and the airfield stands about 202 feet above sea level. The single main runway, the one the whole airport currently runs on, is 3,316 metres long, a figure that becomes relevant when you read about the Northern Runway project and Gatwick's plans to use its standby runway as well.

• Match the postcode to your terminal, not the airport. RH6 0NP is South, RH6 0PJ is North. The general code RH6 0NP is quoted everywhere, but it points at the South Terminal, so North Terminal passengers who use it arrive on the wrong side.
• If you have booked parking, use the postcode on the email. It beats the terminal code, especially for long stay. South Terminal long stay is RH6 0NY; North Terminal long stay has no reliable postcode, so follow the signs.
• Trust the signs for the last half mile. Sat nav gets you to Gatwick; the roadside gantries get you to the right forecourt and car park. Read them for your terminal and your car park number.
• Check your terminal before you set off. Airlines move between the two terminals, so confirm it on your booking. The terminal lookup gives the answer by airline if the booking is not to hand.
• LGW is the code that matters to you. It is on your ticket and your bag tag. EGKK is the aviation code and you can safely ignore it unless you are reading a flight plan.