• This is a new record for monthly passenger numbers at the world’s busiest single runway airport
• European traffic, particularly on business routes, performs strongly – up 10.5%
• North Atlantic traffic is up 6.6% – triggered by Norwegian Air Shuttle’s new low-cost long haul US routes
July 2014 traffic performance summary
| Month | Moving Annual Total | ||||||
| Growth | Aug-13 | Aug-12 | Growth | ||||
| Jul-14 | Jul-13 | (%) | Jul-14 | Jul-13 | (%) | ||
| Total terminal passengers | 4,057.4 | 3,827.9 | 6.0% | 36,926.7 | 34,804.6 | 6.1% | |
| (000s) | |||||||
| Market Analysis: | |||||||
| UK + Channel Islands | 338.5 | 357.9 | (5.4)% | 3,751.2 | 3,823.5 | (1.9)% | |
| Ireland | 117.1 | 114.4 | 2.3% | 1,280.0 | 1,262.6 | 1.4% | |
| European scheduled | 2,386.6 | 2,160.3 | 10.5% | 21,036.6 | 18,992.2 | 10.8% | |
| European charter | 553.2 | 583.5 | (5.2)% | 3,836.6 | 4,094.4 | (6.3)% | |
| North Atlantic | 193.6 | 181.6 | 6.6% | 1,605.2 | 1,736.0 | (7.5)% | |
| Other long haul | 468.4 | 430.2 | 8.9% | 5,417.0 | 4,895.9 | 10.6% | |
| Air transport movements | 25,537 | 24,844 | 2.8% | 253,601 | 242,418 | 4.6% | |
| Cargo (metric tonnes) | 7,939 | 8,640 | (8.1)% | 90,235 | 100,269 | (10.0)% | |
Note: Origins and destinations are classified according to ultimate origin or destination of aircraft in the case of multi-sector flights
Traffic commentary
LONDON, 2014-8-14 — /Travel PR News/ — During July, 4,057,400 million passengers flew through Gatwick – up by 6% or 229,500 passengers on the prior year. This is a new record for monthly passenger numbers at the airport, with the previous highest (4,032,000 million passengers) seen in August 2013.
Traffic to the US was boosted significantly this month following the introduction of new Norwegian Air Shuttle services to New York, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale on new-generation aircraft – The Dreamliner. This led to an uplift of 6.6% in July for North Atlantic traffic.
Other long haul routes also saw growth of 8.9%, as Gatwick continues to attract traffic to both emerging and high growth markets – with Dubai seeing an increase of 6.7%.
Closer to home, European scheduled traffic continued to perform strongly, with growth of 10.5% or 226,000 passengers. Business routes including Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam boosted traffic alongside growth to cities including Stockholm and Rome. High growth markets in particular performed well, with increased frequencies to Turkey earlier this summer translating into a 21.8% year-on-year uplift on traffic to Istanbul.
Gatwick now serves 46 of the top 50 European business routes and 20% of all passengers are travelling for business.
Nick Dunn, Chief Financial Officer at London Gatwick, said:
“The strength of Norwegian’s new low-cost long haul flights on new-generation aircraft is really encouraging. What passengers want is the convenience of flying from their local airport to the destination of their choice with fares they can afford.
“Building a third runway at Heathrow will diminish the choice available to British passengers, making it more expensive to go on holiday, to travel for business and to export goods and services. We support competition, reduced fares and two world-class London airports serving the UK as a whole.”
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 more than 36 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 23,000 on-airport jobs and a further 13,000 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.In its December 2013 interim report, the Airports Commission included London Gatwick and Heathrow on its shortlist of potential locations for a new runway in the UK. 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 Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatwick_Airport