- Gatwick announces +18% growth in long-haul routes in August
- Cargo tonnage was up +22.3% with new Shanghai route due to add 3,700 tonnes of capacity
- 4.9m passengers travelled through Gatwick – its busiest August ever
Bristol, UK, 2018-Sep-13 — /Travel PR News/ — London Gatwick’s cargo traffic soared in August, +22.3% year-on-year, as long-haul routes continued to drive growth at the airport. Gatwick’s long-haul network grew by +18% compared with the same month last year.
In what was the airport’s busiest August on record, overall passenger numbers were up +0.4% and the announcement of a new connection to Shanghai with China Eastern – set to provide over 3,700 extra tonnes of cargo capacity – brought Gatwick’s long-haul network to a total of 64 routes.
The airport now serves 241 destinations across the globe, with several US cities seeing some of the highest year-on-year growth in August. Boston was up +74.2%, while Los Angeles and New York grew by +36.8% and +33.9% respectively.
Closer to home, Vienna and Hamburg also saw high passenger growth rates. Services to Vienna were bolstered by Gatwick’s new Level route, +137.3% year-on-year, while flights to Hamburg – one of northern Europe’s main business hubs – were up +60%.
Due to the introduction of a number of vital long-haul routes, the volume of cargo handled by Gatwick has grown by more than +10% year-on-year in each of the last twelve months.
Stewart Wingate, CEO, Gatwick Airport said:
“As we reach the end of Gatwick’s busiest summer to date, August’s traffic figures are extremely encouraging, particularly within our long-haul network. Our ongoing cargo success story is being driven by the soaring long-haul growth, and highlights the crucial role we play for our local and national economies.
“This will be critical in supporting the country post-Brexit, and we’re continuing to explore the best and most sustainable ways that Gatwick can grow so that the UK can reap the benefits of greater global connectivity.”
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 228 destinations in 74 countries for 45 million passengers a year on short and long-haul point-to-point services. It is also a major economic driver for the UK contributing £5.3 billion to national GDP and generating 85,000 jobs nationally, with around 24,000 on the wider airport campus alone. The airport is south of Central London with excellent public transport links, including the Gatwick Express, and is part of the Oyster contactless payment network. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.
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Source: GATWICK AIRPORT