Gatwick Airport 1972
$20.00
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A 1970s colour photo of the apron at Gatwick Airport featuring several classic jet airliners. In the foreground, a BEA Airtours de Havilland Comet 4B sits on the tarmac, recognizable by its distinct nose shape and quad-engine configuration buried in the wing roots. Behind it is another BEA Airtours aircraft, a Boeing 707, alongside a British Caledonian aircraft with its famous golden lion tail fin. A ground crew member in white overalls stands in the foreground, and the original terminal gantry and pier structures are visible in the background, capturing the height of the early inclusive-tour holiday boom.
Today, Gatwick has evolved into one of the world’s busiest single-runway airports, having undergone massive expansion including the construction of the North Terminal and the pier-top shuttle. The de Havilland Comet and the Boeing 707 have long since been retired from commercial service, replaced by quieter and more fuel-efficient twin-engine jets. British European Airways (BEA) merged with BOAC in 1974 to form British Airways, and British Caledonian was eventually absorbed by BA in the late 1980s. While the general location of the apron remains, the vintage ground equipment and the specific pier architecture seen here have been replaced by modern facilities.
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