Gatwick sees surge in Oyster contactless payments and online check-in

More than 180,000 rail passengers have used Oyster or contactless payments since the technology started being used at Gatwick in January.

More than 180,000 rail passengers have used Oyster or contactless payments since the technology started being used at Gatwick in January.

Almost 35,000 passengers’ used Pay as you Go with Oyster or contactless in the week of February 22, equating to 10% of Gatwick’s total passengers travelling to and from the airport by train.

This was up from 18,000 in the week the new payment methods were introduced in early January.

Meanwhile, the number of passengers checking-in online has almost doubled from 33% in 2010 to 58% last year.

Passengers using a mobile boarding pass has grown from 0.9% in 2013 to 7.9% in 2015. Based on the 20 million passengers who departed from Gatwick in 2015, this equates to about 11.5 million checking-in online and 1.6 million checking-in on their mobile device.

Chief commercial officer, Guy Stephenson, said: “The roll out of Oyster and contactless payments at Gatwick is already helping to make journeys to and from the airport easier and ticketing considerably faster for thousands of our passengers.

“As the rise of the tech-passenger soars, rapid advancements in technology at Gatwick are bringing huge benefits for millions of passengers, offering them greater convenience when travelling and more control over their journey from curb and platform to gate.”