The boss of Gatwick today reiterated his call for a second runway to be allowed at the airport.
The call came from chief executive Stuart Wingate as Gatwick reported a 4.4% rise in passengers to 20.8 million in the half year to September 30.
Turnover was up by 10.7% to £360.6 million to deliver a pre-tax profit of £127.3 million in the six months.
Passenger growth mainly came in the European short-haul sector with low fares airline Norwegian opening 12 new routes and increased services by easyJet and Turkish Airlines.
A £1 billion investment programme at the airport continues, including a £45 million transformation of shops in the South Terminal which contributed to a 2% increase in income per passenger to £3.55.
The airport said it continues to compete to attract new airlines and routes, invest in new facilities, and deliver an excellent service to passengers.
Wingate said: “This is just the start of what Gatwick has to offer. A new runway here would deliver the routes that passengers actually want at a better price, more quickly with significantly less environmental impact. The UK’s next runway has got to be at Gatwick.”
The fresh call comes before the government’s Airports Commission delivering its interim report on airport capacity next month.
Gatwick will mark four years of new ownership in December following its takeover by Global Infrastructure Partners from the former BAA, owner of rival Heathrow.
Wingate said: “In this time we have turned around decades of underinvestment to enable Gatwick to emerge as a competitive, world-class airport.
“Our results today show a strong financial performance but we must not become complacent. We must continue to invest and ensure we remain competitive.”
He added: “Gatwick continues to attract new airlines and routes, which were once only the domain of Heathrow. We now serve routes as diverse – and strategically important for the UK – as Moscow, Beijing, Istanbul and key cities in Vietnam.
“Substantial growth continues to come from our extensive European network. Next year, we will continue to grow our long-haul network with routes including Jakarta, New York and Los Angeles.”