Monday 13 February 2017 12:25 pm

London airports soar to record months as UK shows “economic resilience” in the face of Brexit

Passenger numbers at London's airports continue to soar as Luton reported a 20 per cent jump for January compared to last year.

London's two biggest airports also had record months, with passenger numbers at Heathrow up 4.2 per cent at 5.74m and Gatwick up 12.1 per cent with 2.8m passengers travelling through the airport.

Heathrow said the accelerating growth pointed to "economic resilience" as the UK adapts to the prospect of Brexit. Its figures for December and January were the fastest year-on-year passenger growth for those months in six years.

Long-haul growth in particular bolstered Gatwick – that was up 23.2 per cent on January last year. Some of its most popular routes were San Francisco, Costa Rica, Calgary, New York and Hong Kong.

Luton's bumper January means it is now posted 34 months of consecutive double-digit passenger growth. Construction is currently underway at the airport to upgrade its facilities and help it adjust for the ramp up in demand. It aims to up capacity by 50 per cent to 18m by 2020.

But despite the rapid growth in passenger demand, the airport doesn't have a direct express-style rail service and it's calling for the introduction of four fast trains per hour serving the airport as part of the upcoming East Midlands rail refranchising process.

Nick Barton, Luton's chief executive, said:

As passenger demand for air travel from LLA continues to grow exponentially, public transport links are increasingly becoming a bottleneck for passengers looking to connect with the airport.

We’re investing to transform the airport to help meet demand while Luton Borough Council has committed to deliver a £200m light rail link between the rail station and the terminal.

Implementing an express-style service with four fast trains per hour is the last piece in the jigsaw and can be delivered at no cost through timetable change alone.