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Gatwick hires 400 security staff to cut delays
Gatwick Airport has bolstered the workforce to reduce security delays ahead of the busy summer peak period.
It has hired more than 400 new security staff in recent weeks, with more still being recruited.
The school summer holidays will see several million passengers travelling through Gatwick, with top short-haul destinations including Barcelona, Malaga and Dublin, and top long-haul routes including Dubai, Toronto and Orlando.
To further ease airport security delays, Gatwick is urging passengers to prepare ahead.
The top five items’ passengers most frequently forget to remove from their hand luggage before security screening are toothpaste, Vaseline, cigarette lighters, inhalers, and hand sanitiser.
In recent weeks, around 10,000 hand luggage items going through the scanner are currently rejected and need to be searched every day – which adds an average of five minutes to the time taken to pass through security.
At peak times this can contribute to delays.
Adrian Witherow, Chief Operating Officer, Gatwick Airport said: “With passenger numbers rapidly returning to 2019 levels, we expect to be busy, particularly during the forthcoming school holidays.”
“We are doing everything possible including recruiting and training hundreds of new security staff, many of whom have already started or will be in coming weeks.”
Ray Monty
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