easyJet EJU8456/U28456/EJU52MA Flight from London Gatwick to Berlin Brandenburg by Airbus A320-200

For this trip to Germany and France, I had considered catching the Eurostar on both ways, however, fares were prohibitively expensive. easyJet saved the day with an affordable fare, and also slightly extending my stay in Germany since I will be flying to Berlin instead of just my planned Stuttgart. Confusingly, the flight number of EJU8456 on my itinerary did not correspond to details on Flightradar24, so I have listed all 3 possible flight numbers here.

London Gatwick Airport North Terminal

My easyJet EJU8456/U28456/EJU52MA flight to Berlin Brandenburg operates from London Gatwick Airport North Terminal.

easyJet Gatwick Airport North Terminal Check-in & Bag Drop

easyJet’s bag drop at Gatwick Airport North Terminal is on the same floor as the Gatwick Airport Shuttle Transit train station. There does not seem to be a counter check-in option available, but with European airlines, you will want to avoid a counter check-in as they will usually cost a lot of money to use. easyJet online check-in opens 30 days before departure and closes 2 hours before departures.

As I had no bags to check-in, and I had already checked in online, I headed upstairs for departures.

Gatwick Airport North Terminal Departures Security

Heading through security screening. There is no exit immigration from the UK.

Gatwick Airport North Terminal Departure Lounge

Security screening was quick, taking me only 5 minutes to go through.

The walk to the departure lounge requires a walkthrough of the duty free shop.

There’s quite a lot of seats in the departure lounge, but they were all pretty crowded.

Departure gates are only provided 1 hour before departure. Most passengers will be crowding around the main departure area and looking up at the screens waiting for the gate number. Do not attempt to go to a designated gate area first as some piers or areas have no easy return route.

At the 1-hour mark, my gate number was finally provided. My easyJet EJU8456 flight would be departing from Gate 102.

Heading on to Gate 102. A water fountain is available opposite WHSmith and Well Pharmacy.

Heading on to the 100-series gates.

Gates numbered 101 to 113 are located at the satellite of North Terminal.

Access to Gates 101 to 113 is by an overhead bridge above the taxiway.

Heading up the bridge with a great view of Gatwick Airport.

Travelators are available throughout the length of the bridge.

Heading down the escalator to the satellite.

Gate 102 would be on the left.

During my flight in March 2022, services in the satellite were pretty much closed. I don’t see how these would be useful even today though, since gates are only shown 1 hour before departure, and time will have to be spent in the main departure area where the screens are.

Gate 102 is located at the left end of the satellite after descending from the escalators.

Gate 102

I had purchased a Standard Plus fare which includes 1 small under seat cabin bag (max 45 x 36 x 20 cm), 1 large cabin bag (max 56 x 45 x 25 cm), Up Front seat, and Speedy Boarding. As I needed a large cabin bag (the use of overhead luggage racks on European budget airlines is chargeable in this sense), the Standard Plus fare was around the same price as the cost of a large cabin bag only, so I picked the Standard Plus fare for more frills for around the same price.

The screen at Gate 102 reflected my flight number as EJU8456.

The gate hold room at Gate 102.

My plane arrived from Faro as U28928. OE-IVW would be flying me from London Gatwick to Berlin Brandenburg.

While the aircraft looks a distance away, an aerobridge was available.

When the aircraft was ready for boarding, no announcements were made when the aerobridge was open for access, confusing everyone if the crowd was moving or shuffling. There was also no difference between Speedy Boarding and regular boarding, which was essential for the overhead bins to remain empty for paying large cabin bag customers.

The queue down the aerobridge.

Boarding the easyJet Airbus A320.

The interior of the easyJet Airbus A320 from my Up Front seat 3A.

The generous legroom available on board , though I’m not sure if this is a standard throughout the aircraft or it’s just for the Up Front seat.

Along with the usual tray table, a coat hanger is placed facing you, and a small advertising panel is used for promoting a meal deal available on board.

The air-conditioning vent, reading lights, and crew call buttons are typical of an Airbus A320.

The upfront view of my Up Front seat.

There was a delay in pushing back from the gate due to airport congestion.

Pushing back from the gate with a ground staff walking along, which I’m not sure what he’s controlling.

The pushback was all the way out to the taxiway.

It was a long taxi out to the runway.

Heading on to Runway 26R to taxi. This means that only 1 runway was in active use at Gatwick.

Sharing the 1 active runway with both arriving and departing flights.

Queuing behind easyJet jets.

Watching eastJet jets landing.

Finally it’s my turn to take-off.

More easyJet jets jetting behind.

Taking off from Runway 08R.

My easyJet EJU8456/U28456/EJU52MA flight departed from London Gatwick at 5.31pm – 31 minutes late.

Flying past the North Terminal.

Flying past the South Terminal.

Flying over Gatwick Airport Railway Station.

It got quite foggy after that.

Cruising across the English Channel.

I had wanted to order a meal to try out the catering on board, but unfortunately, all mains had ran out and the flight was only left with a small bit of snacks.

The food and drinks menu on board easyJet. Prices are charged in Euros.

The duty-free products are printed within the same menu on the inside.

Approaching mainland Europe over Noordwijk of the Netherlands.

The sunset over Germany’s skies.

My first close-up view of Germany from the window.

For landing, the cabin lights were only slightly dimmed rather than completely switched off.

Approaching Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt

My easyJet EJU8456/U28456/EJU52MA flight landed at Berlin Brandenburg at 8.05pm – 5 minutes late.

Taxiing to Terminal 1.

As a budget flight, and seeing all these available remote stands, I was afraid that I had to bus to the terminal from this flight.

My fears seem unfounded as the plane continued its taxi closer and closer to the terminal building.

Parking at Terminal 1.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport Terminal 1

I saw mobile stairs on standby, but I though that it’s fine since it will be just a short hop down and up.

I was pleasantly surprised with the sight of the aerobridge swinging in. This was a double aerobridge easyJet flight, both at the origin and destination.

From my Up Front seat, I was one of the first to disembark.

Heading up the aerobridge to the terminal building.

And hello Berlin for the first time. Strangely not coming in from the Scoot non-stop flight from Singapore.

Immigration was surprisingly just up ahead, without a long walk.

Thank you OE-IVW.

Schengen Area Immigration

Immigration is cleared here for entry into Germany and the Schengen Area. This was relatively fuss-free, though I was asked to show my ticket out of the Schengen Area, which was a Eurostar ticket from Paris.

Heading down to the baggage reclaim area.

Baggage Reclaim

The whole baggage reclaim area was empty, with no other arrivals at this time. As I had no check-in bags, I headed straight out.

Schengen Area Customs

Heading through Schengen Area customs with nothing to declare.

Arrival Hall

Once through customs, I was officially in Germany proper.

The first thing I saw in the arrival hall was, surprise surprise, Marche Mövenpick. This outlet is way smaller than 313@somerset or VivoCity though. As I was getting hungry with no food on board the dinner time flight, I decided to have dinner here first before heading into the city as it was still a quiet COVID period and I wasn’t sure what time food options in Berlin would close.

Transfer to Airport Express (FEX)

Following my dinner, I continued my journey into Berlin by the Deutsche Bahn Flughafen Express (FEX) airport express train.

Conclusion

Overall, it was a cheap and useful flight on easyJet, getting me an extended trip in mainland Europe based on their fares and available destinations. Now starts my train journey back to the UK.