Gatwick sees 7.7% passenger increase as short-haul demand surges

Gatwick Airport has reported a significant rise in passenger numbers, with 19.9 million passengers passing through its terminals in the first half of 2024, a 7.7% increase compared to the same period last year.

The UK’s second-largest airport attributes the growth to a strong recovery in short-haul travel, even as long-haul passenger numbers continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels.

Gatwick revenues rose 15.3% to £488m in the first six months of 2024, while pre-tax profits rose 36% to £136.3m. Despite these gains, overall passenger numbers remain 10% below the levels seen in the first half of 2019, with long-haul travel particularly hard hit – down 30% on pre-pandemic figures.

Gatwick Airport chief executive Stuart Wingate noted that some long-haul slots had been temporarily reallocated to short-haul airlines, but he was optimistic that these slots would return to long-haul use as the airport continued to expand its network, particularly with airlines from India, China and other parts of Asia.

Gatwick’s short-haul network remains strong, with passenger numbers forecast to reach 16.9 million in the first half of 2024, just 5.6% below pre-pandemic figures. Wingate expects short-haul passenger volumes in the latter half of the year to exceed 2019 levels.

The airport is also awaiting government approval to operate the northern emergency runway on a regular basis, a key part of its £2.2bn expansion plan. If approved, it would allow Gatwick to handle up to 75 million passengers a year by the late 2030s, a significant increase on the 40.9 million passengers recorded last year.


Jimmy Young

Jamie is an experienced business journalist and senior correspondent at Business Matters, with over a decade of experience reporting on SMEs in the UK. Jamie has a degree in Business Administration and regularly attends industry conferences and workshops to stay at the forefront of emerging trends. When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring journalists and budding entrepreneurs and sharing his wealth of knowledge to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

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