London Gatwick CEO joins colleagues in raising more than £37,000 for local charities in bike ride to Paris

From May 10-12, the London Gatwick team pedalled more than 300km to support the airport’s three official charity partners: SASH Charity, Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) and Gatwick TravelCare.

The team was made up of colleagues from across the airport, including engineers, security officers, fire fighters and executive leadership. For many of the cyclists this was a huge personal challenge, having never ridden this distance before.

The cyclists started from London Gatwick in the early hours of Friday morning with a 105km ride to Newhaven, where they then crossed the English Channel by ferry. The following day, they covered an additional 127km through the French countryside. Day three brought another 105km leg, culminating at the iconic Eiffel Tower.

London Gatwick is part of the VINCI Airports network, so the next day, the team cycled across Paris to the VINCI Group headquarters. Here they were greeted and congratulated on their achievement by Xavier Huillard, chairman and chief executive officer of VINCI, and Nicolas Notebaert, chief executive officer, VINCI Concessions.

Stewart Wingate, CEO, London Gatwick said: “I’m incredibly proud to have cycled alongside my colleagues for these wonderful charities. Together we endured the hot weather, challenging hills and even hailstorms and this bike ride has shown what we can accomplish when we come together for causes we believe in. I’m particularly thankful to my 27 airport colleagues for their efforts and the support they showed me personally.

“We are not just an airport; we are a community that cares deeply about making a difference. We are immensely grateful for our charity partners who work tirelessly to provide vital support to people across our local community.

“I want to thank every one of our supporters who donated.”

Raquel Williams, fundraising officer, SASH Charity: “The sponsored bike ride will directly help sick children and their families in Surrey and Sussex. The donations will transform essential rooms in our children's ward such as a treatment room at East Surrey Hospital where children receive urgent medical care, creating a new family room for their parents, enhancing other overnight rooms where the most seriously unwell children stay."

For KSS, these funds could pay for fuel for all 19 incidents they were called to at London Gatwick in 2023 and 14 of the 112 incidents they responded to in Crawley in 2023.

The funds raised will also have a tangible impact for Gatwick TravelCare, who offer short to long-term support to passengers in distress. This includes individuals facing challenges such as missed flights or those who are victims of human trafficking.

London Gatwick covered all event costs, ensuring that 100% of the funds raised directly benefit the charities. The total includes £7,000 in match-funding by London Gatwick. Donations are still being welcomed via the official fundraising page.

London Gatwick and its employees have also supported other fundraising events in recent weeks. On May 23, more than 40 London Gatwick employees joined the 1,700 runners who participated in Run Gatwick, either in the 5km charity relay or the full 10km race, raising money for a range of charities, match-funded by the airport.

London Gatwick also sponsored the East Grinstead leg of the Mid Sussex Marathon in early May. The three-day event, which included sections in Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill, saw several Gatwick staff taking part on behalf of the airport’s charity partners and other good causes.

These events follow London Gatwick’s record levels of donations to charities across Sussex, Surrey and Kent in 2023, which totalled more than £750,000.