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Passenger numbers fall at Gatwick

Passenger numbers dropped slightly at Gatwick Airport last month, with the most significant decrease in traffic for North Atlantic flights.

The firm said the challenging economic climate combined with poor weather conditions meant it was happy with the marginal fall in numbers, and allowed the airport to use its £8m snow-clearing equipment.

Domestic flights still rose in the UK, up 2.7% year-on-year, although the number of flights to Europe were down as a result of ongoing economic problems in the Eurozone.

In contrast, Heathrow Airport announced further traffic increases in January as 5.6m people passed through the airport in December.

North Atlantic flight traffic rose by 0.5% however Heathrow suffered a similar fate to Gatwick in Europe, with a passenger reduction of 4.5% to Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain over the course of 2012.

Gatwick Airport’s chief financial officer, Nick Dunn, commented: “In January we saw a slight decline in the number of passengers travelling through Gatwick, which is a reflection of lower European traffic. However this was balanced with growth from long-haul airlines serving Asia.

“We are delighted that Garuda Indonesia has chosen Gatwick to operate a vital new direct route to a key high-growth business market.

:Jakarta is also a major hub airport for South East Asia, giving UK passengers even more access and choice to the region“

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