Gatwick van - two men still sought after explosion
A van that sparked a major security alert at Gatwick was not linked to terrorist activity and nothing of concern was found, police say.
Haul of caterpillars seized at Gatwick Airport
Border Force officers have seized 94 kilos of dried caterpillars at Gatwick Airport.
Gatwick price hikes: The full story
Gatwick Airport today announced major investment plans but passenger fees will rise to pay for it.
Live updates
'Controlled explosions' at Gatwick
Reports from Gatwick say that controlled explosions have been carried out on a suspicious van at the North Terminal.
Passengers at North Terminal wait for buses during alert
Passengers at North Terminal in Gatwick wait for a bus to another terminal. Police investigating a suspicious van at Gatwick Airport are working with a bomb disposal unit. Suspicions were raised about a Renault van this afternoon.
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Police check suspicious van at Gatwick
Police investigating a suspicious van at Gatwick Airport are working with a bomb disposal unit. Suspicions were raised about a Renault van this afternoon. Police say there will be significant disruption- they say there is no suggestion that there are any other threats to the airport.
Plane boss criticises price plans
British Airways head Willie Walsh says he will put pressure on the Civil Aviation Authority to reconsider its plans for prices at London Airports.
– Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG, British Airways’ parent companyHeathrow airport is over-priced, over-rewarded and inefficient and these proposals, which will result in an increase in prices, fail to address this situation. In the past the CAA has rewarded Heathrow for inefficiency and it is now the most expensive hub airport in the world. Its charges have tripled in the last 11 years with inflation busting increases year-on-year.The Gatwick proposals, which will result in a significant increase in charges, are completely unjustifiable, totally unacceptable and directly contravene the CAA’s new remit to represent customers’ interests."
Mr Walsh said that under the CAA's new remit, Dame Deirdre Hutton and the CAA board should protect customers and ensure that they got a better deal.
Gatwick figures flying high
London Gatwick served over 2.5 million passengers during March which is an increase of 2.5% compared with last year.
The figures for March are the highest for five years. It's thought the with the continual cold weather and an earlier start to the Easter were contributing factors.
First flight to Moscow
The first ever flight from Garwick to Moscow has arrived in the Russian capital. These pictures just in show the celebrations in the snow on the tarmac.
The new route operated by Easyjet will bring an extra 250,000 passengers a year to the Sussex airport and is expected to boost trade with the south. We'll have a special report tomorrow.
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Airlines' fears ahead of budget
by Mike PearseThe region's four big airlines have today joined forces in an unprecedented move to try to stop more rises in air taxes in this weeks budget.
They say if Air Passenger Duty was scraped more people would travel with up to 60,000 jobs created - many in the south.
Executives from the airlines have sent an urgent letter to Chancellor George Osbourne. The airlines are: British Airways, Easyjet, Ryanair and Crawley based Virgin Atlantic. They say while they compete for passengers, air tax is an issue they stand united in trying to stop.
Passengers can now pay as much as £92 tax on a long-haul flight. The cost is £12 in Europe. This weeks budget could see another rise.
Airlines say the UK now has the highest air tax in the world and in some European countries it has been scrapped to allow a boost for jobs and growth.
Happy 25th Birthday Gatwick
It is 25 years this week since the Queen openend the North Terminal at Gatwick Airport and British Airways will celebrate with staff dressed in old uniforms. The building cost £200m and became the most modern and spacious terminal in the world.
The North Terminal became the home of all British Airways scheduled services, following the acquisition of British Caledonian.
The first customer to arrive in the check-in area was a Mrs Joan Crowson, from Tunbridge Wells, for the BA532 service to Naples, which departed at 8.29am (a minute early) on March 22, 1988.
Since then, over 100 million British Airways customers have passed through the terminal flying to scores of destinations around the world.
No Dreamliner for Thomson
Holiday airline Thomson has abandoned plans to operate Boeing's troubled new Dreamliner plane from May.
The aircraft, the Boeing 787, has been having operational difficulties in recent weeks. Thomson had been hoping to start flying the new quiet, fuel-efficient plane in a couple of months.
A lot of the engineering for the plane was done in the south and it was initially expected to fly for the first time in the UK from Gatwick Airport.
Haul of caterpillars seized at Gatwick Airport
Border Force officers have seized 94 kilos of dried caterpillars at Gatwick Airport.
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