London’s Gatwick Airport reopened its south terminal on Sunday to meet expected strong demand for air travel this summer after the UK lifted all Covid travel rules.
The number of flights will increase from about 300 to 570 a day, the equivalent of opening a medium-sized airport overnight.
The terminal has been dormant since June 15, 2020 to reduce costs during the coronavirus pandemic.
Its shops and cafes have undergone months of refurbishment, updating and cleaning for the reopening.
Gatwick said the expansion in the choice of destinations flown direct from the airport and positive booking data hint at a busy summer ahead.
Chief executive Stewart Wingate said: “A lot of work has gone into preparing our south terminal, and I would like to thank everybody involved as their combined efforts mean that today we are effectively opening a medium-sized airport overnight, which is no small task.
“We’re now ready and excited to welcome passengers back in large numbers, and our restaurants, shops, cafes and bars are also looking forward to serving passengers again before they jet off on holiday, to visit friends and family or take that vital business trip.
“After a difficult two years, we know there is significant pent-up demand for international travel, so I advise passengers to book early to make sure they secure the flights they want this summer”.
He added that the reopening was “great news” for the local community, as well as support and supply businesses that depend on the airport.
British Airways, Wizz Air and Vueling are among the airlines switching from the north to the south terminal between between Sunday and Tuesday.
BA previously announced it will restart its short-haul flights at Gatwick from March 29, with 35 European routes operated by a standalone business.
EasyJet will operate from both terminals as it plans to run its busiest ever flying schedule from the airport with 120 routes.
Gatwick advised passengers to check which terminal their flight is departing from before heading to the airport, to arrive early as terminals may be busy, to make sure their passport is still valid and to check foreign travel advice for their destination countries.
British Airways through the years - in pictures
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
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The specs
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Ticket prices
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SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
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Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
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Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch
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Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
