Gatwick Airport Trials New Boarding Techniques

New ways aimed at reducing aircraft boarding delays are being tested.

The tests are taking place at Gatwick airport at first to discover whether they make the boarding process faster and more relaxing.

One practice involves seating people from the back row to the front row with window seats first, followed by middle seats and then aisle seats.

Gatwick believes it is possible to reduce the time it takes to board a typical short-haul flight by between three and 14 minutes.

The trial has been in operation for two months and is being carried out in the North Terminal on Airbus A320 aircraft with six seats across.

A spokeswoman for easyJet, which is the airline initially involved in the trial, said: “We continually look at different technologies and innovations which could make customer journeys easier. Gatwick is our largest base and they approached us about commencing a boarding trial. A small number of easyJet flights that use Gate 101 are taking part in the trial initially. This isn’t something we are looking to implement across our network at this stage but will work with Gatwick to study the results of their trial when it closes.”