About Us

Who are we?

We are caring for the whole airport community, passengers and staff. We are here to meet the spiritual needs of the passengers and staff outside the walls of churches and faith buildings while respecting the diversity of faiths and beliefs across the airport community.

Over many decades the chaplaincy has built wonderful connections with airport staff and assisted thousands of passengers. People come to the Chapels for a variety of reasons; to chat, rest, pray and prepare for their day of work or travel. Others come when they are delayed, stranded, bereaved or friendless.

The chaplaincy does this by caring for the public worship spaces in both terminals and being an identifiable presence for passengers and staff both airside and landside.

Airport facilities and infrastructure - Pier 3 London Gatwick Airport aerial view -JMilste

Objectives

The Chaplaincy offers:

A trained person of faith (currently: Christians, Buddhists & Muslims)
Worship in a multi-faith chapel
A quiet place for prayer and reflection
Availability
Time and a listening ear
Confidentiality & impartiality
Respect & acceptance
Support in a crisis of bereavement

There are two airport chapels, one in each terminal. Please see the Chapel & Facilities page for details.

Meet The Team

To get in touch with an individual chaplain please use the form on the contact us page and include the chaplain’s name in the message.

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Rev. Sue Lepp

Affiliation: Church of England

Reverend Lepp is a Church of England pastor and the current Lead Chaplain for the Gatwick Chaplaincy. Revd. Lepp joined the team of chaplains at Gatwick airport in October 2023.

Rev. Father Binoy Nilayattingal

Affiliation: Roman Catholic

Father Binoy is a Roman Catholic priest ordained for the diocese of Gibraltar on January 5, 2007. He has an MA in Psychiatric Social work and has worked in Gibraltar as Roman Catholic Chaplin at Gibraltar port and for the Gibraltar prison board. Fr. Binoy joined the team of chaplains at Gatwick airport in July 2018.

Richard P. Heybroek

Affiliation: SGI-UK Buddhist Sangha

Background in flight simulation and applied psychology with Philips, Bombardier, Rediffusion Simulation and LOFTwork Ltd, specializing in organizational error and safety systems. Founded the Human Factors Group of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the UK Confidential Rail Incident Reporting system. Read undergraduate and graduate Philosophy and Psychology at McGill University before becoming a practicing Buddhist:

Mahayana Buddhist in the T'ien T'ai Eastern tradition with the Soka Gakkai Nichiren sangha (SGI-UK).
SGI-UK Sussex and Surrey HQ Leader to 2010, currently Gatwick District leader.
Completed four-year Study Lecturer qualification in 2004.
Joined Gatwick chaplaincy team in 2011

Major Linda Perkin

Affiliation: The Salvation Army representing Free Churches

Major Linda Perkin was commissioned as a Salvation Army Officer in 1977. She has been in SA local church leadership for 32 years ministering in the UK, predominately in the West Midlands and Essex, and for the last 21 years with her husband Simon. So she comes to the chaplaincy with a wealth of experience in pastoral care and incarnational living. Linda has two daughters who are both teachers.

Linda moved from Clacton on Sea in July 2018 to take up the appointment as Chaplain at Gatwick airport.

Our History

The Chaplaincy to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) dates from early 1973, when Reverend Albert Hadshar was appointed as a Roman Catholic chaplain. The first Anglican chaplain, Reverend Philip Bloy, was appointed shortly after. They jointly launched the chaplaincy mission in October 1973 from a small office. By 1976 it was apparent that the rapid growth of the airport required a formal chapel as part of the terminal redevelopment. The first inter-denominational chapel was dedicated on December 2nd, 1976 in the South Terminal. The inter-faith purpose of the chapel was clear from the start with symbols incorporating religious motifs for Christianity, Judaism and Islam with later additions for Hinduism and the Sikh Khanda. The first Free Church chaplain, Commissioner Denis Hunter was appointed in 1987. The construction of the North Terminal heralded the arrival of the North Terminal chapel in 1991.

The current chaplaincy team includes Anglican, Baptist, Elim Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army, Buddhist and Muslim. Many of them lead their respective services throughout the week. Some of them are available for on-call duties and airport emergencies.

The current lead chaplain is Revd Sue Lepp. Sue started at LGW in October 2023. She is also the Rector of St Nicholas Charlwood and Emmanuel Sidlow Bridge.

Associations

The Gatwick Airport chaplaincy is part of the British Isles and Ireland Airport Chaplains’ Network, and a member chaplaincy of the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains (IACAC).

IACAC is an ecumenical group of civil aviation chaplains whose work consists in the priestly, pastoral and prophetic ministering to and with people who work at and use airports/civil aviation. Its purpose is to nurture ecumenical and spiritual relationships in the world. This is to be accomplished through meetings at various locations, normally once each year. The laity is welcome to participate in these meetings since they are the prime movers in starting most of the chapels.

For more information about IACAC, please see their website.