London Gatwick colleagues have completed more than 4,000 hours of training as the airport prepares to deal with adverse weather conditions this winter.

Around 200 airport staff – primarily from the Security and Passenger Operations teams – have volunteered to be trained as ‘Polar Bears’ – ready to operate London Gatwick’s extensive fleet of winter vehicles, including tractors and snow ploughs, should it snow.

The ‘Polar Bears’ have been trained over the past few weeks on operating the vehicles and how to clear snow and ice from the airfield, in line with the airport’s adverse weather plan.

Mark Johnston, Chief Operating Officer, London Gatwick said: “We put a lot of planning in place for our winter operation, starting as soon as the previous winter ends. Our priority is the always safety of our passengers and staff, and to ensure they can travel through the airport as efficiently as possible.  

“We rehearse our processes to make sure we get it right. While we can’t control the weather, it’s vital we have comprehensive plans in place to deal with inclement conditions as best as possible, to ensure the airport can remain operational and people get away on their holidays – particularly over the festive period.”  

The ‘Polar Bears’ are just one of several proactive plans London Gatwick has in place to ensure the airport can run smoothly and safely throughout winter. Other preparations include landside volunteers – known as ‘Yetis’ – on standby to grit 27 miles of the airport’s road network, alongside its car parks and bus routes.

The airport has 70 tonnes of grit stored on site, as well 350,000 litres of liquid de-icer, and 25,000kg of solid de-icer, alongside 80 winter vehicles from articulated snow clearing vehicles, to de-icers, gritters and snow cutters.

These preparations will help passengers jet off to more than 220 worldwide destinations this winter, including new long-haul services to Bangkok and Islamabad with British Airways, and new short-haul flights to Luxor in Egypt (TUI and easyJet), Evenes in Norway (Norwegian), and Brest in France (Volotea).