Air Freight & Cargo Courier at London Gatwick (LGW)

London Gatwick (LGW) is the UK's second-busiest airport and the world's busiest single-runway airport. Most of its air cargo travels in the belly-hold of long-haul passenger flights — particularly to and from Asia, Africa and the Middle East — so quick landside collection from the cargo handlers is what keeps time-critical freight moving. Cargo is set to grow substantially, projected to reach around 161,500 tonnes by the late 2030s as the airport's second runway comes online. T&C Logistics is a same-day air-freight courier at Gatwick, collecting from the handlers and the forwarders across Crawley and the wider South East.

What same-day courier and air freight services does T&C Logistics provide at London Gatwick?

T&C Logistics runs dedicated same-day collection and delivery across the Gatwick cargo area, handling palletised freight, wheeled containers, loose parcels and dangerous goods by road, all GPS-tracked, with temperature-controlled vehicles for pharma and perishables and ULEZ/Clean-Air-Zone-ready vans for the M23 and M25 corridors.

Because Gatwick's freight moves mainly in the holds of scheduled passenger aircraft rather than dedicated freighters, shipments are released through the airport's cargo handlers, and the clock that matters is how quickly a courier can collect, check the paperwork and clear the goods. We collect against your Air Waybill (AWB), coordinate with the handler's release desk, and move your consignment straight to its destination — one dedicated vehicle, door to door, with live driver contact throughout. For exports we run timed collections from your premises or your forwarder's office and deliver into the correct handler ahead of the flight cut-off.

Which cargo handlers operate at Gatwick and how do you work with them?

Gatwick's freight is processed through the South Terminal and North Terminal cargo centres, with the compact World Cargo Centre sitting immediately alongside the airfield, and T&C Logistics collects landside from the main handlers on site: Menzies Aviation, dnata and Swissport.

• Menzies Aviation — cargo handling and acceptance across scheduled and charter services.
• dnata — international cargo handler, strong on time-critical and temperature-controlled freight.
• Swissport — one of the world's largest ground and cargo handlers, with dedicated Gatwick facilities.

Our drivers are pre-registered with the handlers and work to each one's collection procedures, so releases are quick and there are no relayed hand-offs to lose time. We collect landside from the cargo sheds once the handler presents the goods — we do not claim apron or cargo handler access. Cargo collection operates 24/7 for AOG and time-critical work; new bookings and quotes are taken 06:00–22:00, seven days a week.

Alongside the first-line handlers, Gatwick hosts a range of general sales agents (GSAs) and airline handling agents acting for individual carriers, and we coordinate with whichever agent holds your cargo. Gatwick's freight profile is heavily weighted toward long-haul belly-hold and seasonal charter traffic, so cargo readiness can swing with the flight schedule — we plan collections around the handler's actual release time rather than a fixed slot, which keeps urgent consignments moving even through the summer peaks.

How do you work with freight forwarders who need Gatwick logistics support?

We slot into your process as a dependable landside partner for the road leg, collecting released cargo from the handler and delivering to the consignee, or running export freight into the handler ahead of cut-off, on fixed quoted prices with a single point of contact and no surprises on the invoice.

Much of our Gatwick work is booked by freight forwarders who need a dependable landside partner for the road leg. For forwarders without their own local fleet we become your Gatwick same-day and AOG capability across the South East. Standing collections, dedicated account management and EDI booking integration are all available for regular volumes, so a shipment can move from your desk to the shed without a chain of phone calls. It is a natural fit for the Asia, Africa and Middle East trade lanes that dominate Gatwick's belly-hold freight.

What is your 24/7 AOG (Aircraft-on-Ground) response service at Gatwick?

T&C Logistics runs a 24/7 AOG dispatch service with a 30-minute response, collecting spares from suppliers, distributors or manufacturers across the South East — Reading, Croydon, Kent — and delivering them to the Gatwick cargo handlers for the next available flight, or onward to the aircraft's maintenance base.

When an aircraft is grounded at Gatwick for a missing part, every hour costs an airline thousands of pounds. We carry aircraft parts, avionics, hydraulics and cabin supplies, and coordinate with the carrier's AOG desk and the handler so the part is expected when our driver arrives.

"Gatwick sees a lot of AOG traffic because it is a major base for European and long-haul carriers. What operators need is a courier who already knows the handlers and the roads round the M23 and M25, and who can have a part moving within 30 minutes of the call — that speed is the difference between a schedule held and a schedule lost." — Taras, Founder, T&C Logistics

Call +44 7963 400173 with your AWB — the AOG line runs around the clock.

How do you handle air freight collection, export packing and EU dispatch?

We collect export cargo from businesses across the South East and deliver it into the correct Gatwick handler in time for the flight, and for imports we provide same-day collection from the handler with rapid onward delivery UK-wide, with export packing planned around your flight schedule and the handler's cut-off rather than a fixed timetable.

Export packing matters at Gatwick because belly-hold space is dimensionally tight: pallets have to be built to the aircraft's contour and weight limits, and a poorly-presented consignment can be bumped to a later flight. We collect from your packer or move the goods to a packing facility, then deliver the finished, correctly-labelled unit to the handler ahead of cut-off — with the AWB and paperwork checked so it is accepted first time.

For freight leaving the UK we work alongside your freight forwarder and customs broker, and where Gatwick capacity is tight we can also run to the larger cargo gateways — Heathrow for the widest freighter network, or the regional hubs — giving you one point of contact for the whole South East cargo picture.

What temperature-controlled and pharma freight services do you offer from Gatwick?

We provide refrigerated (+2°C to +8°C) and frozen (−20°C to −80°C) collection from the Gatwick handlers' cool-storage areas for pharmaceuticals, biologics, clinical-trial materials and perishables, with data-logger temperature monitoring throughout the journey and logs available for your records.

Pharmaceutical and perishable cargo cannot sit on a dock. For regulated shipments that require Good Distribution Practice procedures, we coordinate with partner carriers whose vehicles carry calibrated data loggers and validated cold-chain procedures — keeping your consignment within its temperature envelope and its chain of custody from the handler to the consignee. Tell us the temperature range, packaging and documentation when you book.

How do you manage customs and documentation for air freight at Gatwick?

Air freight through Gatwick needs clean paperwork to avoid handler delays, and we make sure the physical side is right — we verify the AWB and make sure the supporting documents (commercial invoice, certificate of origin, any phytosanitary certificates) travel with the cargo — and we can also arrange the customs clearance through our partner brokers, or alongside your own broker if you have one.

Your broker files the declaration on HMRC's Customs Declaration Service (CDS). For road dangerous-goods classes our drivers are ADR-licensed; air-side dangerous-goods acceptance is handled by the cargo handlers.

What geographic area do you serve from Gatwick?

We serve London Gatwick and the surrounding South East — Crawley, Horley, Redhill, Reigate, Guildford and Dorking, out to Croydon, Bromley and into central London via the M25, plus the Manor Royal business estate on the airport's doorstep, with same-day collection across the region and next-day delivery to the rest of the UK via the M23, M25 and M1.

From Gatwick we offer EU air links arranged through your forwarder to hubs such as Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

What vehicles and equipment does your fleet include?

We match the vehicle to the cargo — small vans for urgent documents and spares, Luton vans and tail-lifts for palletised freight, and temperature-controlled vehicles for pharma and perishables, all GPS-tracked and covered by goods-in-transit and public-liability insurance.

ADR-licensed drivers are available for road dangerous-goods classes (2, 3 and 9) where the cargo permits road movement, and every vehicle is ULEZ/Clean-Air-Zone-ready for London access.

How do you book a service and what are your operating hours?

Call with your AWB number, collection point and destination, and we quote a fixed price on the spot; for AOG and time-critical jobs a dedicated driver is dispatched within 30 minutes.

Forwarders can set up standing collections, dedicated account management and EDI booking for regular volumes. Enquiries and quotes: 06:00–22:00, seven days a week, across two lines. Cargo collection and AOG dispatch: 24/7 — our drivers cover time-critical and out-of-hours collections around the clock.

How do you provide quotes and what is your response time?

Every shipment is different, so we quote on your exact cargo, collection time and destination — no hidden surcharges, with a response time of within 15 minutes during booking hours.

Whether it is a same-day forwarder collection, an AOG emergency or a scheduled air-freight run, we respond within 15 minutes during booking hours.

• Call: +44 7963 400173 (06:00–17:00) or +44 7737 778964 (08:00–22:00) — enquiries 06:00–22:00, seven days
• Cargo collection & AOG dispatch: 24/7
• Online: Request a quote — 15-minute response

Services at Gatwick

T&C Logistics provides specialist airport logistics: AOG courier service | air freight collection | time-critical delivery | freight forwarding. See also Heathrow air freight and Crawley courier services.

What scale, network and credentials support your Gatwick service?

T&C Logistics draws on a UK-wide network of over 3,000 vetted driver-partners, so there is almost always a vehicle close to your collection point — day, night, weekend or bank holiday — with every job carrying goods-in-transit and public-liability insurance, real-time GPS tracking and a signed proof of delivery.

Behind the local service is national reach: cargo handler handling itself is carried out by the authorised cargo handlers, and where secure air cargo requires it we work with CAA Regulated-Agent partner carriers; T&C collects landside from the cargo sheds. Our own drivers are ADR-licensed for road dangerous goods (classes 2, 3 and 9).

Airport operations subject to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations.