Gatwick has decided to hand its air traffic control to German government-run company DFS (Deutsche Flugsicherung).
It means the UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) will lose the contract it has held for a number of years.
Mike Stoller, NATS director of operations airports, said: "We are extremely disappointed that the highly competitive bid we submitted to Gatwick has been unsuccessful.
"We have added considerable value to Gatwick in recent years, building it to the point where with 55 movements an hour it significantly out-performs every other single runway airport in the world."
Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said: "We appreciate the contribution to our business made by Nats over many years and look forward to continuing to work with them in the transition period and across more general air traffic control services."
The new 10-year DFS contract will start from October 15 and will cover air traffic and approach services below 4,000 feet.
NATS will continue to cover all air navigation services above 4,000 feet from its base in Swanwick.
The decision to switch comes after an extensive tender process looking at safety, innovation, airport management, technical capability, cost, resilience and the ability to accommodate the requirements of a growing airport.
"DFS is a company of great standing, operating an extensive network of air traffic control services in Germany," said Wingate.
"We are very impressed with the company’s technical capabilities, track record and safety standards within its existing operations along with the experience, efficiency and innovation it will bring to Gatwick."
DFS already operates air traffic control at 16 airports, including Munich and Frankfurt.
