YEAR-ON-TRAFFIC at Gatwick airport grew by more than 10 per cent in January, according to the airport's operators, Global Infrastructure Partners. Official figures revealed 17,950 air transport movements, up from 16,284 the previous year. Passenger numbers were also on the rise - up from 1.87 million to 2m - but Gatwick warned the 11.8 per cent had been "inflated by severe winter conditions" in the first half of January 2010.
Underlying passenger numbers grew 4.8 per cent year-on-year in January, said the airport. European scheduled flights saw the largest increase - 19.9 per cent - followed by flights to Ireland that grew 13.5 per cent. Flights within the UK and Channel Islands were up by 11.7 per cent. The number of North Atlantic flights, however, dropped by 1 per cent in January, compared to the same month in 2010.
Underlying trends at Gatwick showed a growth of 2.6 per cent in December, following two consecutive months of growth at the airport.