UK. London Gatwick Airport has reported a +2.7% year-on-year increase in passenger traffic in September. Some 4.5 million travellers passed through the airport during the month.
A strong +8.1% increase in long-haul travel made a significant contribution to overall growth. Destinations in Asia proved particularly popular, with travel to Hong Kong and Tianjin, China up +64.0% and +28.4% respectively.
New York (+49.9%), Paris (+30.7%) and Milan (+3.4%) were also popular destinations as international fashion weeks were held in the cities during the month.
Gatwick also noted a +15% increase in visitors to Lima, Peru. The airport said it was responding to an increase in demand for travel to South America with Norwegian introducing a new route to Buenos Aires, Argentina in February 2018.
“Gatwick’s September figures demonstrate the year-round global connectivity that the airport provides with passengers choosing Gatwick for destinations right across the globe,” said Gatwick Airport CEO Stewart Wingate.
“In just September, Gatwick had new routes to Denver, Seattle and Singapore start. While in the next few months alone, new long-haul connections to Austin, Chicago, Taipei and Buenos Aires begin.”
Wingate said he was “saddened” to hear of the closure of Monarch Airlines earlier this month. The airline has over three decades of history at Gatwick. “We have been working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority to return everyone affected home,” he noted.
