London Gatwick Airport today announced its 28th consecutive month of traffic growth, with the busiest-ever June in its history handling 3.8m passengers – a 5% increase on the same month in 2014.

After 12 months consecutive growth, Gatwick’s long-haul routes underpinned the +8% increase in June compared to the previous comparative period in 2014. Airport management says this only ‘further illustrates Gatwick’s case for expansion as it can cater for all types of flights by all types of airline”.

Commenting on the performance, Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate said: “The growth of our transatlantic routes, which from May will include Boston, is the latest demonstration of the way the industry is moving – with a new generation of carriers and aircraft fuelling the low cost long-haul revolution.

 

“We will continue to engage actively with government at all levels to show why Gatwick expansion is the only means by which we can sustain the low-cost revolution that has driven aviation growth over the last two decades and the only choice which can actually deliver the aviation capacity that the UK desperately needs.”

In its review on the June performance, Gatwick management said destinations contributing to this long-haul growth include North Atlantic routes (+14.3%) with USA routes +20.6%, largely driven by the passenger take up of Norwegian’s low cost long-haul routes.

 

Significant growth was also seen by Caribbean and Latin America (+8.1%) routes year on year. Long haul leisure destinations drove this Caribbean and Latin America increase, with Tobago +79.1%, Grenada +44.3% and Havana +38.2%.

Further long-haul growth was achieved by Middle East and Central Asia routes (+9.1%) year on year, with United Arab Emirates routes (+11.7%) on the previous year, as more passengers used the three times daily service to Dubai.