Gatwick reports monthly rise in passenger numbers
The number of passengers at Gatwick airport rose last month.
The West Sussex airport handled more than 2.23 million passengers in January 2014 – a 6.6% rise on the January 2013 total.
North Atlantic numbers dipped 13.4% last month while European charter traffic was down 19.0%. But European scheduled passenger numbers rose 12.8% and long-haul excluding North Atlantic was up 11.3%.
Among European routes where numbers increased were Stockholm, Istanbul, Moscow and Copenhagen. Long-haul destinations showing big rises included Thailand, Sri Lanka and Dubai.
Gatwick said the loss of traffic to North America was mainly due to US Airways ceasing services last year.
Bosses at the West Sussex airport are due, soon, to publish an internal report into the severe flight disruption on Christmas Eve when flooding caused a power outage which led to a number of services being axed and others badly delayed.
