Echoing figures seen at Luton Airport, London Gatwick has recorded the busiest September in its history, with 4.5 million passengers travelling through.

Total passenger numbers grew by 14,800 – a 0.3 per cent increase compared with September last year.

North Atlantic routes saw high growth rates, up 20.5 per cent overall – with Denver, Boston and Fort Lauderdale proving particularly popular, up 215, 71 and 48 per cent respectively.

Gatwick’s long-haul network continues to go from strength to strength, growing by 18.1 per cent in September.

This is having a direct impact on the airport’s cargo growth, with tonnage 17.4 per cent year-on-year.

Other long-haul routes with noticeably strong growth in September included Kigali, Rwanda – which grew by 51.5 per cent, around a year and a half after its initial launch by RwandAir – and Hong Kong, with passenger numbers up 4.2 per cent.

In terms of short-haul routes, Vienna continues to surge, up 130 per cent in September, thanks to a new Level service launched earlier this year.

Stewart Wingate, chief executive, London Gatwick said: “With our long-haul network thriving, we’re in a strong position to support a post-Brexit Britain, when long-haul connections to countries like China will be more important than ever before.”