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Profits soar at Gatwick Airport as bosses remain hopeful for expansion

Gatwick Airport’s parent company, Ivy Holdco Ltd, has revealed its results for the six months ending 30 September 2015, showcasing a significant increase in profit and revenue as it continues to campaign for expansion.

The West Sussex airport saw a total of 23.5 million passengers travelled through its doors during the financial period, an increase of 1.1 million or 4.7% compared to the same period in the prior year, resulting in the busiest six months in Gatwick’s history.

As a result of increased footfall, Ivy Holdco reported pre-tax profits of £135.2m, up from £11.47m for the same period last year, across its four wholly-owned subsidiaries.

In July Gatwick lost out to Heathrow Airport, which was given a formal nod of approval from the Airports Commission led by Sir Howard Davies. However, Gatwick bosses remain adamant that a second runway in West Sussex is a preferable choice: “Gatwick’s case for a second runway is underpinned by its belief that passengers benefit from choice.

“The Airport supports the idea of a competitive network of airports serving London, the South East of England and the UK as a whole.

“The Airport believes that competition fosters innovation, encourages the improvement of service levels and maintains pricing tension to the benefit of passengers everywhere.

“A competitive network of airports also improves the overall resilience of the country’s aviation capacity and allows for the development of capacity to suit all types of airlines across the country.”

The airport also saw revenue increase to £411.8m from £391.6m for the period, “largely the result of period-onperiod traffic growth” and “growth in passenger traffic affects aeronautical, retail and car parking income.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .