Gatwick sees passenger numbers increase by 2.4% in September

• Over 80,000 more passengers flew from Gatwick compared to the prior year
• Load factors remain high at 86.6% – 1.4% higher than the prior year

2012-10-11 — /travelprnews.com/ — September 2012 traffic performance summary

Note: Origins and destinations are classified according to ultimate origin or destination of aircraft in the case of multi-sector flights.

Figures for the market sectors have been rounded. Totals as per traffic summary.

Key Points:

• Gatwick saw a return to the historical growth rate of 2.4% in September as 80,200 more passengers flew from Gatwick compared to the prior year.
  • Traffic on scheduled services to Europe continued to increase versus the prior year at a growth rate of 7.1%
  • Charter traffic to the same region however is in decline and there was also a slight fall in passengers on domestic routes
  • New Asian carriers flying passengers to Beijing, Seoul and Vietnam contributed over 20% to the September traffic increase
• The trend of achieving high average load factors continues; load factors in September were 1.4% higher than the prior year at 86.6%. Notably, load factors on Asian carriers have also continued to increase this month

This month

• British Airways announced a new three weekly service to Colombo from Winter 2012
• Air Arabia confirmed it is to launch a twice weekly service to Tangiers and a three weekly service to Casablanca from Winter 2012
• Monarch confirmed the cancellation of a twice daily Milan service from Winter 2012 in favour of focussing Gatwick operations on ski-related routes

Commenting, Gatwick Airport’s Chief Finance Officer Nick Dunn said: “As expected, the increase in late August bookings post the Games continued into September and this saw us return to the historic growth rate of 2.4% for this time of the year.

“Furthermore, I am delighted to see our new long-haul customers serving Beijing, Seoul and Vietnam performing well. We remain committed to supporting those airlines to help them grow and prosper here at Gatwick and ensure London has the connectivity it needs today and in the future.”