Gatwick Airport has delivered a strong financial performance, driven by passenger growth and operational excellence despite the economic headwinds.

Reporting its financial results for the year ended March 31st, the airport said turnover had increased 8.6 per cent to £517.4 million, while EBITDA was up 16.9 per cent to £221.5 million.

The strong performance reflects traffic growth, an increase in the allowable aeronautical yield and tight cost control, the airport said in a statement to markets.

Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick Airport, said: “This has been a successful year for Gatwick.

“Despite the difficult economic conditions, we have delivered a strong financial performance on the back of growing our passenger traffic by an underlying per cent.

He added: “Underpinning our performance is a transformation of the passenger experience and improvement in operational efficiency for our airlines and the airport.

“We have been competing with Heathrow, Stansted and Luton and other European airports, and this has seen us achieve passenger growth every single month over the course of the year.

“We have been winning new connections to high growth economies including South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam, Hong Kong and China.”

New long haul carriers to Asian markets contributed to London’s connectivity to the Far East, Gatwick officials said, while the airport has continued to see an increase in short-haul markets into Europe.

“Passengers and airlines are benefiting from new facilities and we are currently investing around £20 million per month,” continued Wingate.

“We expect to invest around a further £435 million over the next two years as we complete our six year £1.2 billion programme.”