London Gatwick Airport had the busiest July in its history this year after 4.3 million passengers traveled through its terminals last month, a 6.4% increase when compared with 2014. The airport also recorded two-and-a-half years of consecutive month-on-month traffic growth.
London Gatwick attributed its record month to increased aircraft movements at the airport and more passengers per plane. It also praised improved passenger traffic on its long-haul routes, up 7% compared with the previous year. The increase in demand for long-haul routes has driven British Airways to operate a non-stop route to Costa Rica beginning in May 2016.
Stewart Wingate, CEO at London Gatwick, 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’s 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 10 years ahead of the forecasts used by the Airports Commission to predict future air traffic movements. Our growth in the last 12 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 unraveling.”