Latest news with #StewartWingate
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gatwick Airport boss moves on after 15 years
The chief executive of the UK's second largest airport is moving on after 15 years in the role. Stewart Wingate, who took up his position at Gatwick in 2010, is moving on to a newly created role overseeing three UK airports. As managing director, UK airports, for Vinci Airports and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) he will oversee the future development and strategic direction of Gatwick, Edinburgh and Belfast International, with the chief executives of all three airports reporting to him. Pierre-Hugues Schmit, currently chief commercial and operational officer at Vinci Airports and a non-executive director on the Gatwick board, will take over at the West Sussex airport. Both appointments will start on 1 September. Gatwick is one of the busiest single-runway airports in the world, serving approximately 43.2 million passengers in 2024. Plans for a second runway were backed by the government in February. The airport wants to move its northern runway, which is currently only used for taxiing or as a back up, and make it operational by the end of the decade. A joint statement from Vinci and GIP said: "Stewart is one of the most experienced aviation executives in Europe and on behalf of the Board we would like to thank him for his outstanding contribution to Gatwick. "His broad expertise and strong track record make him an ideal choice for the newly created role." Mr Wingate said: "It's been a privilege to lead the Gatwick team through a number of very exciting projects such as the seven-year planning process to bring our Northern Runway into routine use and more challenging periods such as the Covid pandemic. "The airport is in a strong financial and operational position with more airlines than ever before serving our passengers. Mr Schmit said he was "excited" to be joining Gatwick to lead it "through the next stage of its growth journey". Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Gatwick second runway backed by government Gatwick Airport has one of its busiest summers Gatwick CEO relieved as South Terminal reopens Gatwick Airport
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Gatwick Airport chief executive moves on after 15 years
The chief executive of the UK's second largest airport is moving on after 15 years in the Wingate, who took up his position at Gatwick in 2010, is moving on to a newly created role overseeing three UK airports. As managing director, UK airports, for Vinci Airports and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) he will oversee the future development and strategic direction of Gatwick, Edinburgh and Belfast International, with the chief executives of all three airports reporting to Schmit, currently chief commercial and operational officer at Vinci Airports and a non-executive director on the Gatwick board, will take over at the West Sussex airport. Both appointments will start on 1 September. Gatwick is one of the busiest single-runway airports in the world, serving approximately 43.2 million passengers in for a second runway were backed by the government in February. The airport wants to move its northern runway, which is currently only used for taxiing or as a back up, and make it operational by the end of the decade. A joint statement from Vinci and GIP said: "Stewart is one of the most experienced aviation executives in Europe and on behalf of the Board we would like to thank him for his outstanding contribution to Gatwick."His broad expertise and strong track record make him an ideal choice for the newly created role." Mr Wingate said: "It's been a privilege to lead the Gatwick team through a number of very exciting projects such as the seven-year planning process to bring our Northern Runway into routine use and more challenging periods such as the Covid pandemic. "The airport is in a strong financial and operational position with more airlines than ever before serving our passengers. Mr Schmit said he was "excited" to be joining Gatwick to lead it "through the next stage of its growth journey".
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Gatwick Airport CEO to Exit Role After 15 Years at the Helm
Gatwick Airport Chief Executive Officer Stewart Wingate will step out of his role later this year after spearheading the London hub for 15 years. Wingate will become managing director of UK airports, a role created by Vinci Airports and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) which both own a stake in Gatwick. The job commences on September 1, the airport said on Friday in a statement. Vinci Airports Chief Commercial and Operational Officer Pierre-Hugues Schmit will succeed Wingate.
Metro
30-04-2025
- Business
- Metro
London airport announces parking drop-off fee hike within days
Gatwick Airport announced it will increase the drop-off fees for drivers, which could make its charges the most expensive in London. The UK's second busiest airport has proposed to hike the passenger drop-off fees after it was asked to increase the number of people arriving by public transport if it wants to expand. It is required to increase the number of passengers arriving by public transport to 54% before final approval for the northern runway use will be considered by the Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander. The way to influence passengers to choose trains to the airport will be by increasing the cost of drop-off, Gatwick's chief executive, Stewart Wingate, told The Telegraph. Gatwick Airport's drop-off charge is currently £6 for a 10-minute stint for private cars and taxis. Each additional minute costs £1, with up to 20 minutes. The maximum daily charge is capped at £26, while a maximum length of stay is 30 minutes. The base fee will increase to £7 from May 2, Gatwick Airport announced. The latest increase was labelled as 'daylight robbery' and 'a disgrace.' One passenger said: 'What a total rip off, what a disgrace. If you want people to use public transport make sure the trains are running 24 hours.' Gatwick Airport – The fee will be £7 from May 2. The charge must be paid by midnight the day after parking. Late payment will incur a Parking Charge Notice (PCN). Heathrow Airport – Its fee increased to £6 in January for drop-offs at the terminals, which can be paid after a visit or pre-paid. Stansted Airport – Drop-off costs £7 for up to 15 minutes, with anything over 15 minutes costing £25. London Luton – Pick up and drop-off at Luton costs £5 for five minutes. Each further minute costs £1, with a maximum stay of 20 minutes. The charge can be paid online only. A longer stay than 20 minutes in the express zone will incur a penalty charge. Luton also has a mid-stay car park around a 10-minute walk away, which is free up to 15 minutes. City of London – Drop-off at the terminal is free, but drivers are not allowed to wait. Blue Badge holders can park up for free for 30 minutes. The pick-up charge is £6.90 for up to 20 minutes, increasing to £14.90 for up to 30 minutes. A 24 hour visit costs £74.90. Zamir Dreni, the general secretary of the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU), accused the increase being 'a cash cow on the public.' He told Metro: 'On paper it might sound good, but in practice, where is the public transport when I land past midnight?' The fee increase is a 'punishment' if passengers 'don't use public transport,' he said, adding that taxis might be the only option for people with luggage and children. The last time the base fee increased from the previous £5 was in early 2024. Gatwick said the plans to bring its northern runway into permanent use in a bid to boost annual passenger numbers to 75 million are 'shovel-ready' – but the Planning Inspectorate set extra requirements before work can start. More Trending Campaigners against the expansion told Metro that Gatwick should be made to pay for the ramifications that more passengers have on local roads, which are 'crumbling because they are taking Gatwick traffic now.' Wingate said that the 'amended proposal' will address 'the matters raised by the Secretary of State in her letter, including noise and environmental impacts.' He commented on the expansion: 'This project represents a £2.2billion investment, fully funded by our shareholders and it is essential that any planning conditions enable us to make full use of the Northern Runway.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Jeremy Vine stops posting cycling videos after trolling became 'too much' MORE: New 'dream' train route could finally connect two major UK cities MORE: Take a peek inside Ikea's new flagship store opening in London's Oxford Street
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gatwick plots higher parking fees to secure second runway
Gatwick bosses have put forward plans to raise car drop-off and parking charges in an effort to secure approval for a second runway. The airport has outlined the proposals as part of a submission to the Planning Inspectorate, which earlier this year said Gatwick must ensure that at least 54pc of travellers use public transport to get there if it wants to see unrestricted flights from a second landing strip. Stewart Wingate, the airport's chief executive, said that since it has no control over trains, the main way it could stop people arriving by car was to raise fees. He said: 'We'd be trying to influence people who were making that marginal decision of 'should I drive and drop off or use the car parks, or should I use the rail services?' 'The forecourt drop-off charge is the mechanism we can use. We could start to increase that drop-off charge. If we adjust that upwards we would also make changes to the car parking tariffs as well.' Gatwick currently charges £6 for a drop-off to be completed within 10 minutes, payable by taxis as well as private cars. Every further minute costs an extra £1 up to a maximum of 30 minutes for a total of £26. The headline fee increased from £5 at the start of 2024, a move that sparked outrage at the time. Drivers on social media branded the increase a 'rip-off' and 'absolute joke'. Heathrow raised its drop-off fee to £6 in January while Stansted charges £7, so any rise would most likely make Gatwick the city's most expensive airport for drivers. Mr Wingate said higher charges for cars would be introduced as a last resort if an insufficient number of people used the train and did not specify how big the increase might be. Proposals to raise the charges come after Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, failed to approve Gatwick's runway plans in an initial ruling on Feb 27. The airport is seeking approval to bring a second emergency runway into everyday use, with the £2.5bn project set to add 100,000 flights a year, almost doubling capacity to 75m passengers. While indicating that she was minded to back the scheme, Ms Alexander said the airport should take account of changes proposed by the Planning Inspectorate. Officials are concerned that waving through the plans could lead to more congestion on the already busy roads around Gatwick. A government source said the submission from Gatwick represented 'encouraging progress.' Gatwick said it would initially engage with train and coach operators, the Department for Transport and Network Rail on more direct efforts to lift the proportion of people using public transport beyond the current level of 45pc. Mr Wingate said: 'We're trying to give the Government a pragmatic, sensible and rational pathway which achieves the objective of reduced road congestion and allows them to support the runway.' Gatwick, owned by French construction giant Vinci, had until Friday to submit a formal response to the blueprint proposed by the Planning Inspectorate. The airport said it would also accept a reduction in the expanded airport's noise footprint from 135 sq km to 125 sq km, while seeking the disclosure of evidence supporting the tighter restrictions, which it warned could limit the use of some larger aircraft. While a consultation must be launched to allow all parties to respond, a government source said a final decision on the runway plan will be reached as soon as possible ahead of an October deadline. Additional reporting by Max Head. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
