Gatwick passenger growth slowed almost to a standstill last month.
Numbers edged up by just 0.4% year-on-year to 4.9 million, compared with rival Heathrow’s August growth of 2.6% to more than 7.5 million passengers.
However, the total meant that it was Gatwick’s busiest August on record.
An 18% growth in long-haul routes offset declines in other areas such as UK domestic, European scheduled and European charter in the peak summer month.
Several US cities saw some of the highest year-on-year growth, with Boston up 74.2%, Los Angeles 36.8% and New York 33.9%.
Services to Vienna were bolstered by British Airways low cost offshoot Level, with numbers up 137.3% over August 2017, while flights to Hamburg were up 60%.
Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate said: “As we reach the end of Gatwick’s busiest summer to date, August’s traffic figures are extremely encouraging, particularly within our long-haul network.
“Our ongoing cargo success story is being driven by the soaring long-haul growth, and highlights the crucial role we play for our local and national economies.
“This will be critical in supporting the country post-Brexit, and we’re continuing to explore the best and most sustainable ways that Gatwick can grow so that the UK can reap the benefits of greater global connectivity.”