Gatwick Airport passengers can expect some gastro delights at the gates as a trio of new Jamie Oliver-run restaurants open.

The celebrity chef is hoping holidaymakers will let their taste buds take off as he aims to change UK airport food – previously seen as bleak and boring.

Jamie’s Gatwick grub will be served in three different restaurants, which cover the largest restaurant space in the airport.

Jamie Oliver at Gatwick boasts Jamie’s Italian, Jamie’s Italian Bakery and Union Jacks Bar.

Hungry travellers moving through the airport, maybe on their way to an airport transfer, can pick up a snack or some breakfast to take on to the plane with them from Jamie’s Italian Bakery.

The bakery is a new concept from the TV chef, and will serve freshly made sandwiches, focaccia bread and home-made pizza for passengers on-the-go.

Serving a completely British menu, the Union Jacks site in the airport is the UK’s first stand-alone Union Jacks Bar to launch.

The site also has a bar on the balcony of Gatwick’s North Terminal, boasting an ‘open’ beer cellar.

There will also be a wine list featuring only British wine, along with a large number beers sourced and produced in the UK.

Jamie Oliver said: “Opening this restaurant in the airport is a new and exciting step to take. Whether you want to dine in the Italian, grab food for the flight from the bakery, or savour some good old Blighty grub before you jet off, this is something really special, just for Gatwick.”

Opening times will coincide with the first flight of the day and the last departing flight.

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More pensioners travel more often now than they did when they were younger, a study has shown.

Gatwick Airport revealed the holiday trends of over 70s as it launched its bid to find Britain’s Oldest Traveller.

The study revealed that 55% of respondents have started travelling more than ever before, with having extra time (71%) and money (17%) highlighted as the main reasons.

Gatwick found that while most older travellers opt for a ’staycation’ (86%), 48% like to go Spain, 25% enjoy France and 19% go to Italy.

Researchers quizzed 1,000 people for the survey, which also revealed that 30% of ‘OAT’s’ would like to have special assistance to make navigating airports and planes easier.

In 2011, Gatwick helped 381,000 passengers with reduced mobility, which represented a double-digit growth on the previous year.

Gatwick Airport’s Head of Terminal Operations, Paul Fitch, said: “At Gatwick we provide support and special assistance at every step of an airport journey – from the moment people enter our doors to the moment they leave. From customised transport and dedicated seating right through to specially trained staff, we’re dedicated to making the airport journey easier and more enjoyable for everyone.”

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British Airways has announced a new service connecting Gatwick Airport with Las Vegas from October 29.

Flights will operate three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and depart Gatwick Airport at 11.30am. The return flight will leave McCarran Airport at 3.55pm.

British Airways said the flights will be operated by a three-cabin Boeing 777, which will include a Club World cabin with flat beds.

Return fares start from £722 for a World Traveller ticket, rising to £1,100 for a World Traveller Plus ticket and £3,550 for a Club World premium ticket.

The new service means that British Airways will operate a total of 10 flights a week to Las Vegas from Heathrow and Gatwick Airport.

Colm Lacy, British Airways’ head of commercial at Gatwick, said: “Las Vegas has proved to be an incredibly popular year-round destination from Heathrow so we are delighted to now be able to offer the route from Gatwick as well.

“This is the kind of destination our leisure customers at Gatwick are looking for and it will complement our existing USA and long-haul leisure network.”

Las Vegas is likely to become a popular new route at Gatwick Airport, as new figures show that 3.5 million people visited the city in March, an increase of 100,000 people compared to the same month last year.

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British Airways has started flights on a new route from Heathrow Airport to the Italian city of Bologna.

The new daily service left Heathrow for the first time at 9.30am on April 29, and will depart for northern Italy at that time throughout the year.

It is hoped the route will help ease the burden on Gatwick Airport, which currently has 20 Bologna-bound British Airways’ flights per day.

Situated in the Emilia-Romagna region of the country, Bologna is one of the most picturesque cities in northern Italy.

Holidaymakers can sample coffee shops, bars, or even some authentic Bolognese sauce at one of the restaurants on the Piazza Maggiore, which is one of the largest squares in the old part of the city.

The Piazza Maggiore and the surrounding area is inspired by the Renaissance period, with its legacy in plain sight at Palazzo D’Accursio situated nearby.

Just around the corner is the iconic town hall, which boasts a large collection of art produced by a variety of famous Italian painters.

If you prefer the countryside, then why not venture slightly outside town to the medieval town of Dozza.

The small cobbled streets and brightly decorated buildings make the sleepy town of Dozza the perfect option for a day trip.

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An airport is hoping to find out  exactly what passengers think of it after creating a panel made up of customers.

Gatwick Airport took the step of establishing the Airport Passenger Panel to find out what passengers really think about the airport and its facilities.

The panel will be made up of five members who will be specially selected to ensure the needs and challenges of all passengers are covered.

Gatwick bosses hope the panel will deliver an honest picture of the airport from the view of passengers, which will enable the airport and others throughout the UK to improve their facilities and infrastructure.

Gatwick Airport’s chief executive Stewart Wingate said: “In bringing together the Airport Passenger Panel our mission is simple: to improve the experience for every passenger. 

“Passengers are the lifeblood of any airport and our position as an independent airport allows us to take a new approach to solving long-standing issues. 

“We are 100% committed to making sure that from the moment passengers step though our doors to the moment they leave, their time is as enjoyable and as stress-free as possible.”

Gatwick Airport is the second busiest airport in Britain, handling more than 31 million passengers during 2010. It also boasts the world’s busiest single-use runway, which averages 52 aircraft movements every hour.

Gatwick is one of five major commercial airports in the London area, along with London Heathrow, London City, London Luton and London Stansted.

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A large proportion of holidaymakers try to compete with their friends’ travel plans by booking trips to more exotic and exciting locations, a recent survey has revealed.

Up to two in five British travellers admit they have purposefully sought a holiday that they considered to be more impressive than one a friend, family member or work colleague had recently been on, according to a survey by travel agent Sunshine.

Around 9% of these holidaymakers said they booked these trips because they felt jealous about a holiday recently taken by one of their peers.

Competition among London-based holidaymakers is likely to be particularly intense with airports such as Stansted, Luton and Heathrow all offering cheap flights to some of the most beautiful and exotic destinations across the world.

Some 44% of the 1,208 adults who were questioned said they felt happy for a friend who says they had a “lovely holiday abroad” but 12% admitted they had feelings of envy and 6% said they were “annoyed”.

A total of 79% said they had boasted to their contemporaries about how good their holiday was after they got back and 26% said they thought their friends had often gone on a good holiday just to “get one up on them”.

The survey even revealed that 8% of those who had been away had lied to people about their holiday destination to make their trip sound more exotic than it was.

Sunshine co-founder Chris Brown said: “While it’s nice to hear that someone close to you or someone you get on well with at work has had a lovely holiday, it’s hard not to feel a pang of jealousy.

“However, when booking a holiday, it’s important people choose their location or resort based on what they like, not on what they think will look most impressive to others.”

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Research claims that more people are taking less luggage abroad in a bid to avoid airline baggage fees.

The Co-operative Travel company said there has been a rise in the number of travellers embarking on a trip with just hand luggage.

The firm said that around 26% of passengers were packing light in a bid to save cash – figures that suggest there will be less waiting at checking-in queues in the major UK airports such as Gatwick and Stansted this year.

It was also estimated that 16,000 families flying on budget airlines have got by on just one case between four people.

The claims suggest that people taking a Luton to London bus will be taking much less luggage with them than they were a few years ago.

In light of the research the firm said families taking just one case when flying with budget airlines could save more than £233.

The Co-operative Travel retail distribution director Trevor Davis said: “Budget airlines have been around for quite some time now and people are getting smarter and minimising the cost of their flights.

 ”While not everyone will want to go to the extremes of holidaying with just carry-on baggage, it does allow people to decide exactly what they’re prepared to pay for.

 ”For the airlines this is probably the desired outcome, lowering the weight of the flight and time spent handling people’s luggage.”

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While holidays abroad can be great fun for all the family, the journey there and back can sometimes be fraught with stress.

But British Airways (BA) is working alongside Gatwick Airport to keep the stress of travelling with little ones to an absolute minimum and is providing mums and dads with useful travel tips on travelling overseas with children.

The airline advises parents to substitute large and impractical strollers and pushchairs with compact travel prams that can be easily stored in the overhead luggage during the course of a flight.

It also recommends parents keeping a number of items close at hand with which they can distract their children with and keep them occupied while waiting in the departure lounge. BA also says that it’s vital to remember to take a child’s comfort blanket, teddy or pillow with you before embarking on a journey as these can reassure children and help them to sleep on long flights.

The airline, which flies to a number of family-friendly destinations from Gatwick such as Cancun, Malaga, Paphos and Orlando, also provides children with entertainment packs on flights as well as having a separate child-friendly menu.

Mother-of-two and BA senior first officer Carley Lear said: “We sometimes have stickers and postcards for children and will be more than happy to talk about flying and what all the controls and buttons on the flight deck do.”

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Take-off and landing slots will have to be booked by private pilots during the 2012 Olympics, the Government has said.

This restriction will apply to business jets touching down at a host of airports in the South East, but also to amateur pilots taking light aircraft out. Transport secretary Philip Hammond is aiming to cut delays and disruption to flights in the South East during London 2012.

Mr Hammond said: “As part of the Government’s strategy to ensure successful delivery of efficient transport services for the 2012 London Olympic Games, I am today announcing the introduction of new measures to limit disruption and delay to all flights using airports in the south east of England during the expected period of peak demand for air services for the Games.”

He said in a written statement that the Airports Slot Allocation (Amendment) Regulations would mean “that during the Games the available air space capacity of south east of England will be able to accommodate the maximum possible number of extra flights”. And he added: “All flights operating in controlled airspace and intending to use a co-ordinated airport will need to obtain, and operate in accordance with, pre-booked take-off or landing slots.”

Restrictions are already in place at Stansted, London City, Heathrow and Gatwick airports, but 36 other airports and airfields will be affected, ranging from massive terminals such as Birmingham to smaller airfields such as White Waltham Airfield.

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Gatwick Airport has named construction firm Morgan Sindall as one of the 10 building contractors that will bid for work on the £1.2 billion redevelopment of the site.

The revamp of the second busiest airport in the UK will see its terminal facilities upgraded, the building of new aircraft piers as well as new baggage systems, retail, security and immigration areas.

The London-based company will hope to build on its current relationship with Gatwick’s owners Global Infrastructure, which has seen it carry out work on the airport’s £50 million extension of its North Terminal.

There is likely to be fierce competition for work on the new Gatwick project, with the airport’s redevelopment being identified as a highly lucrative opportunity for construction groups across the country.

Chief executive Paul Smith said:  “We are delighted to extend our relationship with Gatwick and secure a position on its latest framework. Having highlighted the airport sector as one which offers growth potential for our Group, it is pleasing to capitalise on opportunities such as this which help develop our position in the sector.”

The announcement of the shortlist comes as Travelodge also revealed plans to invest in Gatwick by opening a new hotel at the airport. The Gatwick hotel is one of 22 new Travelodge hotels to be built around the UK.

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