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Profits and passengers soar at Gatwick

Profits of £172m have been announced by Gatwick Airport, up 4.8% when compared with the same six month period in 2011.

Gatwick’s results for the half year up to September 30th also showed the company increased turnover by 3.6% to £325.8m.

Passenger levels grew by 1.2% to nearly 20m people, while the airport said its investment targets to improve facilities were all on schedule and in budget.

Chief Executive of Gatwick Airport, Stewart Wingate, said: “These strong half year results come at the same time as Gatwick’s enters its fourth year under new ownership.

“In that time we have focused on growth and delivering greater passenger choice, convenience, better customer service and, crucially, more connections for both business and leisure travellers.

“Three years of competition has seen Gatwick grow its European short haul business, whilst also opening up new routes to key markets in Russia, China, Vietnam and Korea.

“We have seen passenger growth throughout this period and our quality standards are today unparalleled.

“This proves passengers are best served by allowing airports to compete. It is why we recently announced our plans to explore second runway options as we believe growth at Gatwick is the best option for increasing connectivity for the next generation.”

Gatwick said growth in short haul markets was increasing steadily, and new routes to Asia were establishing London’s connections with the Far East.

Mr Wingate added: “Over the next three years we will continue to transform the airport, maximising the opportunities in the short-haul market whilst stepping up our efforts to attract airlines that serve markets of strategic importance to the UK.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .