Stewart Wingate: ‘Back us for expansion’ as Gatwick records busiest ever September

• 4 million passengers travel through the airport in September, +6% on previous year
• Gatwick achieves 31 consecutive months of growth with 39.7 million passengers passing through in the last year.
• Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate said: "Gatwick expects to pass the 40 million annual passengers mark this year, a milestone that the Airports Commission analysis predicted we will reach in a decade. A government decision this year in favour of Gatwick would mean that we can start building during this parliament and be operational by 2025. Our runway proposal can be delivered faster, with a fraction of the environmental impact and at no cost to the UK tax payer."

CEO Stewart Wingate said today that Gatwick should be given the greenlight for expansion as the airport announced its 31st consecutive month of traffic growth. Gatwick achieved its busiest ever September with 4 million passengers travelling through the airport, a 6% increase on the previous year.

Gatwick expansion provides the economic boost the UK needs and is by far the cleanest and quietest option environmentally, Mr Wingate said.

Destinations contributing to this significant growth include European routes +7.8% and North Atlantic routes +11.3%. This September, Canadian routes have grown by 7.1% year on year with Vancouver +14.0% and Toronto +12.0%.

Such is the Gatwick passenger demand for Canadian routes, that May 2016 sees Canadian airline Westjet start six new routes, for the airline, London Gatwick to Canada. Air fares start from £163 one-way with flights to Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and St. John's, including the UK's only direct route to Winnipeg.

An additional 216,956 passengers travelled through London Gatwick in September compared to the same month in 2014. Passenger growth is the result of more air traffic movements per hour and larger aircraft being used on average across the airlines. Average load factors were strong at 87.5%.

Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate said:

"Gatwick expects to pass the 40 million annual passengers mark this year, a milestone that the Airports Commission analysis predicted we will reach in a decade. A government decision this year in favour of Gatwick would mean that we can start building during this parliament and be operational by 2025. Our runway proposal can be delivered faster, with a fraction of the environmental impact and at no cost to the UK tax payer.

"Gatwick's exceptional performance includes the significant growth of our transatlantic routes, which from May will include Westjet's six new Canadian routes, and is the latest demonstration of the benefits of competition that Gatwick brings consumers, with new generation carriers and aircraft driving a low cost long-haul revolution."