- Gatwick’s 2.5 years of consecutive growth far outstrips Airports Commission forecasts
- 4.3 million passengers pass through the airport in July, +6.4% on previous year
- Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate said: “These results put us ten years ahead of the forecasts used by the Airports Commission to predict future air traffic movements and how that relates to the case for expansion. Our growth in the last twelve months is actually more than the Commission concluded could be added at Gatwick in the first year of a new runway being operational here – this is further proof of the flaws in the Airports Commission analysis and shows its conclusions are fast unravelling.”
LONDON, 2015-8-12 — /Travel PR News/ — London Gatwick announced two-and-a-half years of consecutive month-on-month traffic growth and achieved its busiest ever July with 4.3 million passengers travelling through the airport, a 6.4% increase on the previous year.
The airport’s long-haul routes were the key drivers of this impressive performance 7% on the previous year.
Destinations contributing to this significant long haul growth include North Atlantic routes +10.1% with New York routes (+116%) and Los Angeles (+106%) largely driven by passenger take up of Norwegian’s low cost long-haul routes.
Long-haul leisure destinations are also performing well with Cape Verde routes (+119%) and Trinidad (+96%). Passenger demand for long-haul routes has also driven a new British Airways non-stop route to Costa Rica to begin at Gatwick from May 2016.
An additional 260,000 passengers travelled through London Gatwick in July compared to the same month in 2014. Passenger growth is the result of more air traffic movements per hour and larger aircraft being used on average across the airlines. Average load factors were consistently strong at 89.5%, +1.3 points on the previous year.
Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate said:
“Two-and-a-half years of consecutive month-on-month growth shows that Gatwick continues to meet passengers’ needs by providing them with more choice, value and destinations. We are delighted to welcome British Airways’ nonstop flights between Gatwick and San Jose, Costa Rica – the latest addition to Gatwick’s long-haul success story. Flights to long-haul destinations are the fastest growing of the more than 220 destinations that Gatwick flies to today.
“These results put us ten years ahead of the forecasts used by the Airports Commission to predict future air traffic movements. Our growth in the last twelve months is actually more than the Commission concluded could be added at Gatwick in the first year of a new runway being operational here – this is further proof of the flaws in the Airports Commission analysis and shows its conclusions are fast unravelling.”
“Gatwick remains the best solution to solve the UK’s capacity conundrum. Gatwick can deliver the capacity the UK desperately needs and the economic benefit that will bring while limiting the impacts on noise and air quality.”
| Month | Moving Annual Total | ||||||
| Growth | Aug-14 | Aug-13 | Growth | ||||
| Jul-15 | Jul-14 | (%) | Jul-15 | Jul-14 | (%) | ||
| Total terminal passengers (000s) | 4,323.3 | 4,062.7 | 6.4% | 39,319.4 | 36,940.8 | 6.4% | |
| Market Analysis: | |||||||
| UK + Channel Islands | 339.7 | 338.5 | 0.4% | 3,575.0 | 3,750.2 | (4.7)% | |
| Ireland | 121.2 | 117.1 | 3.6% | 1,327.8 | 1,279.9 | 3.7% | |
| European scheduled | 3,074.6 | 2,847.1 | 8.0% | 25,887.2 | 23,932.6 | 8.2% | |
| European charter | 272.4 | 278.4 | (2.1)% | 3,205.9 | 3,062.1 | 4.7% | |
| North Atlantic | 213.0 | 193.6 | 10.1% | 1,808.4 | 1,604.9 | 12.7% | |
| Other long haul | 302.4 | 288.1 | 4.9% | 3,515.1 | 3,311.1 | 6.2% | |
| Air transport movements | 26,519 | 25,430 | 4.3% | 258,410 | 251,828 | 2.6% | |
| Cargo (metric tonnes) | 5,521 | 7,939 | (30.5)% | 80,010 | 90,235 | (11.3)% | |
For more information contact:
Gatwick Airport press office
t: + 44 (0) 1293 505000
e:gatwickmedia@gatwickairport.com
About London Gatwick
Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the most efficient single-runway airport in the world. It serves more than 200 destinations in 90 countries for around 38 million passengers a year on short and long-haul point-to-point services. It is also a major economic driver for the South-East region, generating around 21,000 on-airport jobs and a further 10,000 jobs through related activities. The airport is 28 miles south of London with excellent public transport links, including the Gatwick Express. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.
The Government has indicated that it will make a decision over whether London Gatwick or Heathrow should be permitted to build a new runway by the end of the year. Expansion at Gatwick will best meet the UK’s aviation needs for the future, can provide the greatest economic boost with the least environmental impact, and a new runway can be operational by 2025. For further information, see: www.gatwickobviously.com
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