Press Release

New Gatwick Monitoring Centre opens for business


06 August 2007

An integrated monitoring centre serving both North and South Terminals opened for business on Wednesday  1 August. The new centre merges six operational centres across both Terminals into one state of the art facility in the South Terminal.

The integrated Gatwick Monitoring Centre (GMC) allows for stronger team work between North and South Terminals and across operational and planning departments. The GMC is able to monitor the flow of passengers and operations across both Terminals, 24 hours a day. Walls of monitors show in real time the flow of passengers throughout the airport and facilities such as  baggage systems, escalators, lifts and the transit system.  A red, amber and green system for highlighting problem areas, is in place and  footage is recorded and held on the system for a set period of time allowing it to be retrieved if needed.

A new ‘Operation Performance Monitor’ (OPM) looks at check-in and security and allows BAA Gatwick  to forecast how many passengers will arrive at check-in or security at 15-minute intervals. Operational plans are drawn up from this, for example planning where to place staff, advising handling agents so they are in place to meet passenger flows as well as knowing how many security lanes are needed.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the centre’s opening, BAA Gatwick’s  Managing Director,  Andy Flower said: “ The opening of the Gatwick Monitoring Centre is a tremendous team achievement and represents the start of a complete cultural change in the way we manage our business.  This facility will help us manage by constructive timescales and serve our passengers better. It has great potential for what we can do and the way we can start to work across the business.  I would like to personally thank everyone who has been involved”.

Head of Operational Resources,  Keith Booker said:  “The GMC will become the eyes and ears of the airport for airport staff and passengers.  We can now give front-line staff exactly what they need to manage operations effectively.   It allows us to have a proactive approach to managing the Terminals and we have already started to see results. It is making a difference. Before we had six control rooms, now we have one which allows us a complete view of the Gatwick campus”.

Steve Cullinane, one of the five GMC leaders said: “The Monitoring Centre will be a proper hub for Gatwick and will help us to do the right things in the right way - we can feed good information through to the operation so that  resources are allocated effectively. It brings the teams together and creates one Gatwick”.

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