International Connection Through Gatwick

Lauren,
I am reading between the lines that this is two separate tickets, not one. In which case you have problems.

• Land 09:40, but transatlantic flights can be +/- 60 minutes depending on which way the wind is blowing.
• Taxiing and messing around until you get off the plane, 10-20 minutes.
• Customs is nothing, walk through the green channel. But before customs is immigration (passport control), and on a bad day for the "other passports" (non-EU) queue that can take up to 1 hour.
• People mover south terminal to north terminal - 10 minutes.
• Now you have to go through security at north terminal, and depending on which gate your flight is at it could be between 5 to 15 minutes walk to the gate (north terminal is spread out).
• I don't know about Meridiana, but some economy airlines say you have to be at the gate ready to board 20 minutes before departure.

I will leave you to add this up, but to make this I think you need luck, and a following wind on your flight to Gatwick.

Thanks, I realize I really quite messed up in booking that short of a connection.

I did email Gatwick, and they said it was cutting it a bit fine, but that having hand luggage/carry on only helps. They also recommended I book the Premium Passport Control to get through immigration quicker. I've done so since it's only 12.50 GBP, and thi was all my error to begin with in booking.

It's pretty much up to the universe if my flight lands on time and taxis timely. Honestly, since I messed up I'll triage as I go. If we do arrive and miss our flight to Naples in the end, it's finding a new one to get us there hopefully in same day. Yea, I'll probably eat cost, but hey, I've learned my lesson now.

If you only have hand baggage and you have the boarding card for your onward flight then you should not need to go through immigration and customs etc.

There is a flight connections facility airside, and buses to take you between the terminals although it isn't as well signed as at Heathrow. You will need to go through security though. I haven't arrived in Gatwick South for years, but know that in Gatwick North this happens in the arrival terminal before you get on the transfer bus.

90 mins is still tight though.

Since Meridiana apparently will let me check in and print my pass 7 days out before my flight, I should have my boarding card. I know Gatwick has GatwickConnect, but I didn't think Meridiana was one of the airlines it works with.

Do I just go to the Flight Connections or whatever it's called desk in South Terminal?

Ignore the Gatwick Connect service - this is for someone with checked bags and does little more than recheck your bags after you have collected them off your first flight onto your second for a limited set of airlines.

Follow the signs for Flight Connections when you arrive - if you end up at Immigration you have missed a turning somewhere. If it is like the North terminal you will arrive at a dedicated security point which you need your boarding pass to get into.

There is much less airside connecting these days at Gatwick because so many of the airlines are on a point to point low cost model limiting it to hand baggage only. You can't do it all on a domestic / Ireland arrival at all.

Thanks! i'll have to make sure I don't get lost.