Gatwick airport traffic levels soar again as report on expansion looms
Passenger traffic at Gatwick airport rose for the 26th month in a row this April, with 3.2m passengers travelling through the airport last month.
The busiest European route from Gatwick remained Barcelona, which saw traffic increase by 0.2 per cent from April 2014, totalling 113,200 passengers.
The biggest growth came on the North Atlantic route though, due to low cost operation Norwegian, with an 8.2 per cent rise from the same time last year, to 152,000 passengers.
Overall 2015 was the airport’s busiest April ever.
The increase in passenger numbers at Gatwick will be seen as furthering its case to be given the green-light for expansion.
Aviation growth is very politically sensitive. Tory MPs in South West London, such as Zac Goldsmith and Boris Johnson, oppose expansion to Gatwick’s rival Heathrow.
It will be one of the first things in the government’s new inbox, as the airport commission, chaired by Lord Davies, will deliver its final recommendation this summer
Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said: “The fact remains, a new runway at Gatwick can be delivered quicker, cheaper, more simply and at a fraction of the overwhelming environmental costs that face Heathrow.”