Gatwick announces more profit, slightly more passengers and hopes of 2nd runway

Date added: 29 November, 2012

Gatwick airport has announced increased profits, and increased numbers of passengers compared to last year. Comparing each month with the same month a year ago, passengers were up by 2.1% in October; up 2.4% in September;  up 0.2% in August; down – 0.1% in July; up 4% in June and up 2% in May.  Profits increased by 4.8% over the same April to September period in 2011. Stewart Wingate, Gatwick’s chief executive, says the airport is opening up new long-haul routes to Russian, China, Vietnam and Korea. He says the growing numbers of passengers “is why we recently announced our plans to explore 2nd runway options as we believe growth at Gatwick is the best option for increasing connectivity for the next generation.”  He says there is an over-emphasis in the UK on the need for a single hub airport and London could follow a similar model to New York, which is served by 3 key airports. Rival Heathrow says the New York model wouldn’t work in the UK as there is only one major network airline in this country – British Airways – compared to three in the US.

 

 

28 November 2012 (BBC)

Gatwick Airport has announced increased half-yearly profits of £172m

Gatwick Airport
Almost 20 million passengers used Gatwick Airport between April and September

Gatwick Airport has announced increased half-yearly profits of £172m and a growth in passenger numbers.

Profits increased by 4.8% over the same April to September period in 2011.

Gatwick was sold in 2009 after the Competition Commission ruled BAA must also sell Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports.

Stewart Wingate, Gatwick’s chief executive, said: “Three years of competition has seen Gatwick grow its European short-haul business.”

He added that the airport was also opening up new long-haul routes to Russian, China, Vietnam and Korea.

‘Exploring second runway’
During the same six-month period, turnover was up by 3.6% to £325.8m and passenger numbers also increased by 1.2% to 19.9 million.

Mr Wingate said: “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”

A legal agreement currently prevents a second runway being built at the West Sussex airport until 2019.

In June, Gatwick announced plans to handle up to 40 million passengers a year by 2021, increasing to 45 million annually by 2030.

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

Gatwick said about 23,000 people were employed at the airport, with a further 13,000 jobs in related businesses in the South East.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-20525800

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 Figures for Gatwick for October 2012

Source: Gatwick press release   for more details  (Oct 2012 compared to Oct 2011)

Terminal Passengers:             up +  2.1% in Oct 2012  to 2,982.800  passengers approx

Air Transport Movements:      down – 0.7% to  21,097 ATMs
Air Cargo :                                    up + 17.3%  to  8,750  metric tonnes

 

 

 

Figures for  Gatwick for September 2012

Source: Gatwick  press release   for more details  (Sept 2012 compared to Sept 2011)

Terminal Passengers:             up +  2.4% in Sept 2012  to 3.443,800  passengers approx

Air Transport Movements:      up + 0.1 % to  22,887 ATMs
Air Cargo :                                    up + 9.5%  to  7,814  metric tonnes

 

 

Figures for  Gatwick for August 2012

Source: Gatwick press release   for more details  (Aug 2012 compared to Aug 2011)

Terminal Passengers:             up +  0.2% in Aug 2012  to 3,833,200  passengers approx

Air Transport Movements:      up + 0.1 % to  24,637 ATMs
Air Cargo :                                    up + 15.9%  to  8,437  metric tonnes

 

 

Figures for  Gatwick for July 2012

Source: Gatwick press release   for more details  (July 2012 compared to July 2011)

Terminal Passengers:              down – 0.1 % in July 2012  to 3,628,200  passengers approx

Air Transport Movements:      down –  0.1% to  23,913 ATMs
Air Cargo :                                     up + 25.1 % to   9,079 metric tonnes

 

 

Figures for  Gatwick for June 2012

Source: Gatwick press release   for more details  (Jun 2012 compared to Jun 2011)

Terminal Passengers:             up + 4.0 % in  June 2012  to  3,334,500  passengers approx

Air Transport Movements:      up + 0.6 % to  22,529 ATMs
Air Cargo :                                    up + 14.7 % to   8,275 metric tonnes

 

 

Figures for  Gatwick for May 2012

Source: Gatwick press release   for more details  (May 2012 compared to May 2011)

Terminal Passengers:             up +  2.0% in May 2012  to 2,973,500  passengers approx

Air Transport Movements:      down – 1.2 % to 21,632  ATMs
Air Cargo :                                    up + 2.3 % to  7,809  metric tonnes

 

 …and figures for earlier months are at  Gatwick monthly passenger, ATM and air cargo data

 

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Gatwick Airport pushes for second runway

Gatwick Airport has stepped up its campaign for a second runway after an increase in passenger numbers pushed half-year turnover up 3.6pc.

Rear view as two jet planes follow each other almost nose to tail on take off from London Gatwick airport

Gatwick, owned by Global Infrastructure Partners, has commissioned research into a second runway. Photo: Alamy

29 Nov 2012  (Telegraph)

The airport, which is trying to compete with Heathrow as a gateway to destinations in Asia, saw 19.9m passengers pass through its doors in the six months to September 30, up from 19.7m in the same period last year.
Holidaymakers and business travellers also spent more while they were at the Sussex airport, helping turnover up from £314.5m to £325.8m. Pre-tax profits jumped to £107.2m from £32.1m previously.
Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick, said the results were proof that competition between the various London airports was the best way of improving aviation capacity in the south east of England.
Gatwick, which was bought by Global Infrastructure Partners in 2009, recently announced it had commissioned a study into a second runway.
Mr Wingate believes there is an over-emphasis in the UK on the need for a single hub airport and London could follow a similar model to New York, which is served by three key airports.
“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,” Mr Wingate said.
Passengers are “best served by allowing airports to compete”, he added. In New York, Newark and LaGuardia airports both compete with the bigger John F. Kennedy for passengers.
Gatwick has promised to abide by an agreement with the local community which prevents it from opening a second runway before 2019, but the airport has set out its stall as a commission chaired by Sir Howard Davies assesses how to improve airport capacity in Britain.
Rival Heathrow recently claimed the New York model wouldn’t work in the UK as there is only one major network airline in this country – British Airways – compared to three in the US.
Heathrow also claimed New York is “less well connected than it would be” if it had a single hub airport.

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Posted: Thursday, November 29th, 2012. Filed in General News, News about Airports, Recent News.