Gatwick Airport insists it remains a "credible and deliverable option" for runway expansion after recording almost double-digit growth in passenger numbers last month.

Bosses of Gatwick Airport in England said the airport’s pre-tax profits for the period April-September had reached £172m (€212.7m).

Gatwick could be handling 40 million passengers a year by 2021/22 and around 45 million by 2030, the West Sussex airport’s bosses said today.