extension of Gatwick's runway by 875 ft (267 m) to 9,075 ft (2,766 m) to permit non-stop  jet  operations to the  US east coast  with a full  payload  and full- range /payload operations by  British United and  Caledonian   BAC One-Eleven 500s . [28] [55]   BEA Airtours  made Gatwick their base. [56]