Breaking Travel News
United States travellers drive Gatwick to busiest ever September

United States travellers drive Gatwick to busiest ever September

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.”