Gatwick has had its busiest ever October with more than four million passengers using the airport.
It is the first time the UK’s second-largest airport has hit the figure during the month of October, and represents a 2% growth in numbers when compared to 2017.
There was a 44.5% rise in passengers flying to Antalya and a 28.6% rise in passengers heading to Dalaman as Turkey was the number one destination for short-haul winter sun.
Long-haul routes grew by 12.4% on last year, with Boston numbers growing by 67.9% from October 2017 which the airport put down to Norwegian adding a daily service to the city.
Passengers flying to Singapore increased by 30%, and Gatwick plans to bolster numbers to Asia with three flights a week to Shanghai with China Eastern Airlines starting next month.
London Gatwick’s chief executive, Stewart Wingate, said: “Gatwick’s growth is vital for the future prosperity of Britain and the country’s post-Brexit future – and our growing global connections are needed more than ever.”
Reports of the passenger increase come three weeks after Gatwick Airport published its draft master plan, detailing possible plans to open up the standby runway to allow 50,000 extra flights a year.
Wingate added: “To further enable Gatwick’s global connectivity, this October, we published the airport’s draft master plan, setting out our vision for growth to the 2030s.
“We are now seeking feedback from the public, including our local neighbours and our airport partners on this draft master plan, as we seek to fulfil our role for the country, in the most sustainable way.”