Gatwick North Terminal IDL Project

Sector context

Gatwick's North Terminal International Departure Lounge (IDL) is one of the busiest retail spaces in UK aviation. It runs around the clock behind airside security, so the access had to be engineered around a live, trading terminal. This is the kind of restricted-zone, mission-critical work Tier-1 contractors bring to Palmers.

The challenge

The Bobcat project added new shops and restaurants on a newly formed mezzanine floor (level 30) inside the live IDL. Palmers had to install and support heavy structural steel at height while the terminal stayed open beneath.

• All works ran at night, under a strict permit system, in a live airside environment with tight security.
• Parts of the IDL stayed open throughout for retail restocking, passenger flow and other airport staff.
• Nine-metre steel spine beams weighing up to 3 tonnes had to be lifted and positioned in a confined, operational space.

The Palmers solution

Through early engagement with Balfour Beatty and Gatwick Airport Ltd, Palmers erected a free-standing lifting gantry next to the Pier 4 connector. A laydown scaffold was built to the underside of the steels so the floor could be decked once the beams were bolted in.

• Three trolley electric winches landed the 9m beams onto the scaffold, then trolleyed them into the IDL.
• Two rows of support scaffolds carried steel spine beams that spanned 27m across the lounge.
• Palmers also supplied the scaffolding for the plantroom mechanical and electrical fit-out.
• Delivery ran to a tight rhythm: weekly planning meetings, Nightly Activity Briefings before every shift, formal Early Warning Notices for any change, and monthly branch reviews.