London Gatwick Airport in the UK, has reported a 2.4 percent increase in passenger traffic in September 2012, underlining a solid summer season.
The airport has recorded an increase of around 80,300 more passengers during September 2012, compared to the same period last year. Traffic on services to European destinations from the airport increased from that in the same period of the preceding year, with a growth rate 7.1 percent in September. Charter traffic has reduced in the month, compared to same period in 2011, as did passenger traffic on domestic routes.
In September, the airport has registered 20 percent more traffic from passengers flying with Asian carriers to Beijing, Seoul and Vietnam.
Nick Dunn, the chief financial officer at Gatwick Airport, said, ‘As expected, the increase in late August bookings post the Games continued into September and this saw us return to the historic growth rate of 2.4 percent for this time of the year.
Furthermore, I am delighted to see our new long-haul customers serving Beijing, Seoul and Vietnam performing well. We remain committed to supporting those airlines to help them grow and prosper here at Gatwick and ensure London has the connectivity it needs today and in the future. Over 80,000 more passengers flew from Gatwick compared to the prior year.’
In September, the airport announced a new three times weekly service by British Airways to Colombo for the Winter of 2012; a twice weekly service to Tangiers and a three times weekly service to Casablanca from Air Arabia, a UAE based airline; and a twice daily Milan service from Monarch.