IT’S 3am at The Red Lion pub in Gatwick Airport and British Gas field engineer Sam Singleton is in a French maid’s outfit, waving a feather duster and clutching a pint of Guinness.
His 17-strong stag group is having the typical pre-flight drinks that have become a rite of passage for Brits jetting off abroad.
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While many pubs are struggling to survive during the cost-of-living crisis, those operating at UK airports are reporting that business is on the up and up.
And it’s not just plentiful food offerings and the sociable atmosphere that are bringing in travellers in droves — terminal pubs remain one of the only places where it is socially acceptable to have a pint at 5am.
Sam, 34, from Crawley, West Sussex, says: “I’m dressed like this because I’m getting married in four weeks to my beautiful fiancee, Erin.
“We’ve had a few drinks and a really good laugh. I couldn’t imagine starting a stag in any other way, to be honest.”
The Sun on Sunday spent 24 hours at JD Wetherspoon’s The Red Lion in Gatwick’s North Terminal to see why Britain’s airside bars are hitting new heights.
This is what we found . . .
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04:00
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Nicole Briggs, 29, from Essex, is heading to the Greek island of Mykonos to celebrate her birthday, wearing a pink cowboy hat and matching sash.
Her pal Danielle Grimes, 30, also from Essex, tells us: “Having drinks at this time is just the law of the airport. It’s the only way to do it.”
On the other side of the pub, siblings Alicia, Adan, 17, and Heart Evanelio, 20, from Medway, Kent, are tucking into an early-morning breakfast before they fly to Basel, Switzerland, with 20 family members.
Alicia, 27, says: “We come here because the food is always good. It’s affordable, comfortable, welcoming and the staff are fantastic.”
05:00
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Another stag party has arrived. Robert, James, Jay, Jimmy and John are in their 30s and from different parts of the UK, but they are all flying to Benidorm.
Robert says: “There will be 28 altogether and we’ve had a fantastic day and night already.”
Jay adds: “We came to Wetherspoons because it’s better value and you know exactly what you are getting.”
06:00
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Actor David Green, 58, from Brighton, and Sam Peters, 52, from Croydon, South London, clink pint glasses, having only just met.
Sam says: “The Red Lion is very different to the average pub where people are scared to strike up a conversation with strangers. No-one bats an eyelid here.”
07:00
Factory worker Jay Law, 34, and Sasha Cross, 35, from the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, are going to Malta for the weekend.
They eat eggs Benedict and drink coffee with Guinness and a bourbon. Jay says: “It is the rule at airports — have a proper drink with your brew.”
08:00
Broker Lorna Stevens, 42, and special educational needs worker Amanda Sargent, 38, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, met in their local pub 20 years ago.
They are drinking pink gin and tonic before flying to Marrakech, and Amanda says: “We always take a photo of ourselves at The Red Lion — the start of the holiday, the obligatory picture.”
09:00
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Team leader and mum- of-two Megan Gardner, 23, from Crawley, West Sussex, does four seven-hour shifts a week at The Red Lion.
She says: “I haven’t a bad word to say about working here — that’s why I’ve been here seven years.”
10:00
Tasha Clements, 28, from Horsham, West Sussex, has been a bar worker at The Red Lion for two years.
She says: “Every day someone makes the same joke — ‘It’s five o’clock somewhere!’. And it is.”
11:00
Jhonny Da Corte has been the pub’s kitchen chief leader for five years. He is overseeing 13 people today.
Venezuelan Jhonny, 30, from West London, says: “We go through around 20,000 eggs per week.
“Our most popular dish in the morning will be our traditional breakfast and, at lunch, burgers take over as the top sellers.”
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Spandau Ballet star Steve Norman has popped into The Red Lion ahead of a gig in Leipzig, Germany, with his new band, The Sleevz.
Over a pint of Doom Bar, he opens up about his ambition to reunite the band.
Steve, 65, says: “It would be great, before one of us pops our clogs, to be in a room together at the very least — and maybe, who knows, do a last farewell tour.”
13:00
Dad Zesh Sadique, 46, and his wife Sadia are en route to Bodrum, Turkey, for four days with their children, Zidane, eight, and Arya, three.
Tucking into fish and chips, Sadia, 37, from London, says: “We came here because there is a great range of food. We’ll be back.”
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Electrician John Penny, 38, and his wife Lucy, who live near Crowborough, East Sussex, are celebrating their first child-free holiday in 12 years.
They’re off to sunny Palma, Majorca, and John is celebrating with a pint, while community helper Lucy, 35, is content with a Pepsi.
She says: “We always come here with the kids, too. You order on an app, so it’s easy.”
15:00
Beccie Simms, 47, and her nine-year-old neurodivergent twins Poppy and Ethan are having pizza and chips before flying to Crete.
Maternity ward worker Beccie, from Surrey, says: “This suits the twins. It is relaxed and has a great choice of food. The twins are very picky!”
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Portsmouth students Poppy Davinport, Hannah Wilson and Alice Richardson, all 21, together with Millie Parker, 20, are heading to Majorca.
They are drinking Proseccos, gin and tonics and apple juices. Millie says: “The plan is to get tanned, drink and eat lots of paella.”
17:00
Londoners Olivia Moris-Brown, 19, who works for M&S, and her partner Jason Pham, a 20-year-old insurance broker, are off to Pisa in Italy to celebrate their sixth anniversary.
Tucking into chips and curry sauce, a spicy Korean chicken bowl and fish and chips, Jason says: “We love Spoons, we are fans. The food is always banging.”
18:00
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Guinness-drinking Leon Ojukwu, 43, from East London, and his wife Abbie, 40, are primary school teachers.
They’re celebrating their tenth anniversary in Majorca with kids Esme, eight, and Zac, five. Abbie, who has had a Prosecco, says: “We always come here before a flight.
“Everyone has a smile on their face, the drinks come quickly and you don’t need to dress up.”
19:00
Ian Gordon, 62, is waiting for the Inverness flight, heading home to Lhanbryde, Moray, after a work trip.
Tucking into a ham and mushroom pizza, the salmon fisherman says: “The Guinness is good at Wetherspoons.
“I just came back from Iceland — you’re paying at least double for a pint there.”
20:00
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Wearing a sparkly hat, facilities manager Nicola Sandhu is heading to Vilamoura, Portugal, with nine friends for her 40th.
Nicola, from Bexleyheath, Kent, says: “We’ve got wines, Prosecco and lemon spritzes, nachos, fish and chips and an ultimate burger to set our trip off on the right note.”
21:00
Five pint-sipping friends from Selsey, West Sussex, are en route to party capital Prague in the Czech Republic.
Yet NHS service manager Mike Brooks, chef Ryan O’Hara, builder Riley Evans, all 25, carpenter Jenson Holden, 20, and carer Will Jenkinson, 26, insist they are “going to see the local sights”.
Riley says: “We will be in bed by 10pm, reading our Kindles.”
22:00
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Teaching assistant Millie Horner and HR worker Bella Caesar, both 21, from Hedge End, Hampshire, are eating chicken strips and are on their third round of vodka lemonade and rum and Coke.
They got here early for their Ibiza flight and Millie says: “It’s a debrief before the main event begins.”
23:00
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The passengers have all gone, and now The Red Lion worker Holly Taplin, 19, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, is mopping up after a long shift.
She says: “I am a bar associate, which means I host, clean, serve, make drinks — the whole lot.”
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Ollie Wilcox, 29, from Crawley, West Sussex, is a shift manager at the pub.
He says: “We stay open until the last flight goes, then we get ready for the morning shift.
“Passengers start coming through at 2am, and by 4am, the pub’s chock-a-block — there is a queue all the way down to WHSmith.”