Originally Posted by
BHX5DME
Gatwick smashes global record of 44 million annual passengers, with long haul services driving huge growth
10/04/2017
- Gatwick achieves 49 consecutive months of growth with busiest ever March, up 8.4%
- North American routes drive long haul traffic with cargo volumes also up 34%
- ‘Gatwick is booming’ Stewart Wingate, Gatwick CEO
Gatwick passed the 44 million passengers a year mark for the first time this weekend (Saturday) – a world record for a single runway airport – and also announced that it has secured 49 consecutive months of growth.
Driven by growth in long haul routes, the airport has reported its busiest ever March, with over 3.3 million passengers passing through - up 8.4% on the same month in 2016.
With new routes to Denver and Seattle just announced, long haul traffic to North America grew particularly strongly, up 37% in March, with services to LA, Boston and Toronto growing most.
Cape Town, Hong Kong and Costa Rica were top long haul destinations to other parts of the world and contributed to a 34% growth in the volume cargo compared to the same month in 2016.
Stewart Wingate, Gatwick CEO, said:
“Gatwick is booming. We have just hit 44 million passengers a year – a world record for a single runway airport – and a mark that some predicted we would not hit until 2035, in 18 years’ time!”
[I]“Our passengers continue to show confidence in foreign travel, particularly to the growing number of long haul destinations that Gatwick now serves. We launched 20 new long haul routes last year alone and even more will start this summer, including to Seattle, Denver and Xi’an – our third destination in China – with our Hong Kong service also going daily.[/I
- New long haul routes to Denver, Seattle, Fort Lauderdale and Vancouver in North America
- New service direct to Xi’an, China, and also a daily service to Hong Kong
- Hitting 45 million passengers a year - another world record – with bigger, quieter planes and a strengthened short-haul network
Strange that the press release lists the recently announced Norwegian flights to Denver and Seattle but omits any reference to China airlines commencing flights to Taipei along with Rwandair to Kigali .