Gatwick Blog

Gatwick Airport reported its third consecutive month of growth in passenger numbers in December.

The airport handled a total of 2,120,800 passengers in December compared with 2,089,900 – a 1.5% increase on December 2008.

Although passenger numbers increased during the last quarter of 2009, overall, the airport saw a reduction in terminal passengers of 5.3% in 2009 compared with 2008.

North Atlantic traffic experienced the largest drop in numbers – down 35.4% on the previous year – while European charter passengers fell by 18.9%. European scheduled traffic saw an increase of 5.6% in passenger numbers.

Stewart Wingate, London Gatwick Airport’s Chief Executive Officer said: “I am pleased to end the year with a third consecutive month of growth in passenger numbers which demonstrates that Gatwick Airport is recovering well from the economic downturn. While overall annual passenger numbers were lower than in 2008, the newly independent Gatwick Airport will compete strongly to become the airport of choice for airlines and passengers in 2010 and beyond.”