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Is 2 hours enough for airline transfer - Gatwick

I am wondering if 2 hours is enough time to catch a connecting flight at Gatwick. We will be arriving from Spain at 10:30 am and our plane to Canada leaves at 12:35 pm. We only have carry on luggage and both flights are at the same North terminal. I am not sure if we can stay in a secure area or if we will have to go through an immigration/customs area and then back through security.

Thanks.

Posted by
8178 posts

that is enough as long of course if the first is not delayed. Is this one or two separate tickets?

Posted by
5466 posts

The UK doesn't take any other country's security on trust so you will need to go through security although you should be able to stay airside.

Posted by
27 posts

It is 2 separate tickets - arriving from Spain on EasyJet and leaving Gatwick on Westjet.

Posted by
8178 posts

you may have gotten a great price on the first leg but it is too risky; most and I would opt for a lot longer time than 2 hours at Gatwick for the longer flight back to Canada since it is 2 separate tickets. Easy jet you know is not liable if they are late causing you to miss the westJet flight.

Posted by
3398 posts

Whenever I fly on two separate tickets, my personal rule is 3 hours. If your plane is late or you have to go any distance within the terminal or airport to catch the second flight, it's risky.

Posted by
5466 posts

Parts of the North Terminal are a good 15+ minutes from the central departure area, involving going up and down long escalators and walking across a high bridge.

Posted by
4088 posts

Gatwick promotes a service to speed up connections. https://www.gatwickairport.com/at-the-airport/flying-in/gatwickconnects/

Arriving passengers retrieve their luggage and pass it on through a nearby desk for the next flight. With only cabin luggage, this would not seem to be much of a factor for you. However, Gatwick may be among the many airports that now have much more vigorous security screening for carry-ons through central scanning depots rather than at the departure gate. It often takes longer than the gate checks did. Still, two hours would be within my comfort zone.
easyJet has traditionally not had connections with anything, including its own planes. Last fall it began promoting tickets sold with WestJet and Norwegian for long hauls, but it still requires "self connection" using GatwickConnects. The easyJet website is somewhat opaque about advantages but having both flights on one ticket could make proceedings go more smoothly.
Another factor you might check is how easyJet's rules for cabin luggage compare to WestJet. While the Canadian carrier has always promoted itself as a discount operation, it is closer to Air Canada than the European budget lines. Notoriously, easyJet allows one bag in the cabin -- not a small suitcase plus a purse plus a computer. The several times I've flown with with easyJet featured would-be passengers on the floor at the gate trying to squeeze everything into that single bag.

Posted by
27 posts

Thanks for all the tips and advice. The Gatwick Connect info was very helpful.

Posted by
4071 posts

It is 2 separate tickets - arriving from Spain on EasyJet and leaving
Gatwick on Westjet.

No, it's not enough cushion time. It's a gamble especially since your Canadian bound flight could close 30 minutes before departure; so you really don't even have 2 hours at your disposal. Who advised you to do that?

If your inbound from Spain is late, you each will be buying a last-minute one way ticket to your Canadian airport. If you don't have the budget for last minute tickets, pay the change fee to adjust your itinerary.