Fly Me to the Academy

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18 December 2015 | Updated 01 January 1970

Office design and fit-out specialist Area Sq has completed a new workplace and training facility at Gatwick Airport – the easyJet Gatwick Academy. 

Designed with the intention of working alongside the existing facilities at easyJet’s Luton Academy, the new workplace has been built within Concorde House at Gatwick to ease crew access for all parts of Europe.

The 43,000sqft project was completed in under four months and comprises a five-floor easyJet training academy including training rooms, a café area and cabin simulator suite.

The biggest challenge of the project was overseeing the installation of an airbus simulator into the ground floor. The team inched the full size bespoke cabin emergency evacuation trainer (CEET trainer) into the office building with only millimetres to spare. Meticulous structural design had to be planned to remove part of the Ground floor curtain wall system, required to provide access to the space for the CEET.

The simulator includes an airbus body, cockpit and cabin simulator. Crew members will be trained while being timed with the use of dry ice and lighting to imitate emergency evacuation procedures. In a separate part of the space a full size slide trainer was located between ground and first floors for training staff on the emergency evacuation process. 

“The project team delivered this project on time and on budget,” stated Carolyn McCall, CEO, easyJet, speaking at the opening event for the new facility. “Having been involved in a building project personally, I can tell you how amazing that is.”

Area Sq’s relationship with easyJet has lasted more than 10 years and has included the refurbishment of its Luton Hangar 89 office and Luton Academy as well as crew rooms throughout the UK.

Picture: Designed and fitted out by Area Sq, easyJet’s Luton Academy was built within Concorde House at Gatwick to ease crew access for all parts of Europe in under four months

Article written by Cathryn Ellis | Published 18 December 2015

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