Gatwick traffic results for February 2013
Gatwick traffic results for February 2013
11-Mar-2013
February 2013 traffic performance summary
| Month | Moving Annual Total | ||||||
| Growth | Mar-12 | Mar-11 | Growth | ||||
| Feb-13 | Feb-12 | (%) | Feb-13 | Feb-12 | (%) | ||
| Total terminal passengers (000s) | 2,138.9 | 2,154.4 | -0.7 | 34,178.7 | 33,725.3 | 1.3 | |
| Market Analysis: | |||||||
| UK + Channel Islands | 272.0 | 265.6 | 2.4 | 3,841.3 | 3,747.7 | 2.5 | |
| Ireland | 90.0 | 95.5 | -5.8 | 1,277.4 | 1,295.6 | -1.4 | |
| European scheduled | 1,098.7 | 1,106.2 | -0.7 | 18,470.0 | 17,749.3 | 4.1 | |
| European charter | 202.7 | 209.9 | -3.4 | 4,065.1 | 4,544.8 | -10.6 | |
| North Atlantic | 87.6 | 96.5 | -9.2 | 1,833.8 | 1,950.9 | -6.0 | |
| Other long haul | 387.9 | 380.7 | 1.9 | 4,691.1 | 4,437.0 | 5.7 | |
| Air transport movements | 15,301 | 16,305 | -6.2 | 238,856 | 243,171 | -1.8 | |
| Cargo (metric tonnes) | 7,999 | 6,780 | 18.0 | 99,732 | 87,541 | 13.9 | |
Note: Origins and destinations are classified according to ultimate origin or destination of aircraft in the case of multi-sector flights.
More than 2.1 million passengers passed through Gatwick in February 2013, marginally down on the prior year. The (0.7)% decline in passenger numbers was due to last year being a leap year. When compared on a like-for-like basis, 2.2% (or 47,800) more passengers passed through Gatwick in February.
Gatwick's load factors, showing how full the average flight was, reached a record for the month at 80.7%. This was 2.9 percentage points higher than the prior year.
Across the month, Gatwick saw a 2.4% growth in domestic markets with 6,400 more passengers flying to UK and Channel Islands destinations. There was also a 1.9% rise in the number of passengers (7,200 more passengers) flying to long-haul markets outside the US, including Asia, Africa. the Middle East and the Caribbean.
However, there was a decline in European scheduled (0.7)% and chartered (3.4)% flights as the challenging economic conditions continue in Europe.
February was a good month for route development activity. Garuda Indonesia confirmed that they will be launching direct flights to Jakarta later this year, making Gatwick the only UK airport to connect passengers directly to the largest economy in South East Asia.
Iraqi Airways also announced it would resume flights to Baghdad and Sulaymaniyah commencing March 2013. The resumption of this service marks the establishment of the first regular scheduled flights between the two countries for 23 years.
Gatwick Airport's Chief Financial Officer, Nick Dunn, said:
"While economic conditions continue to be challenging in Europe, it is positive that Gatwick is succeeding in developing direct air links to the world's fastest growing economies, which are vital to the success of the UK economy. Therefore we welcomed the news in February that Garuda Indonesia had chosen Gatwick to connect London directly to Jakarta. Gatwick is playing an increasingly important role in opening new routes to growing economies such as China, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam and now Indonesia."