During the trial, Gatwick will place large digital screens and staff at gate 101 to show passengers the order they should board.

A range of sequences will be tested including boarding from the back to front of the aircraft, with window seats first, then middle seats and finally aisle seats.

Passengers who have booked priority boarding or those who require special assistance or are travelling with young families will continue to be boarded first on flights.

Gatwick hopes the move will discourage passengers from rushing to get onboard the aircraft causing queues and congestion at the gate. The airport said the modelling of new boarding techniques could reduce boarding times by up to 10%.

Abhi Chacko, Gatwick’s head of enabling technologies and digital innovation, said: “We want to explore whether boarding by seat number will avoid queues in the gate room and when boarding the aircraft.

“Early indications are that this new technique has the potential to reduce the overall boarding time. 

“By communicating to passengers better and boarding passengers by seat number, we also expect to make the whole boarding experience more relaxing and, potentially, prevent large numbers of passenger rushing forward at any stage.”

Gatwick said it would also be taking feedback from passengers during the trial, which will be used to decide whether to proceed with a new boarding concept or not.