Airport News

Chinese and Russian routes drive Gatwick growth

New routes to China and Russia helped Gatwick Airport towards a 2.5% rise in earnings for the year.

However, the London gateway made a loss of €34.3 overall, due to the “asset-intensive nature” of the airport industry, it said.

Investment of €266.5 million in the year was in line with expectations, the airport added.

Gatwick said its earnings before tax (EBITDA) rose to €267 million for the last financial year.

Airlines such as Air China and Turkish Airlines opened links to high-growth markets including Beijing and Istanbul, alongside new routes from existing carriers such as easyJet to Moscow.

Vietnam Airlines expanded its services and Garuda Indonesia announced it will start Europe’s only direct route to Jakarta from October 2013.

Investment projects included the complete resurfacing of the runway and taxiways, while the airport remained fully operational.

Gatwick’s CEO, Stewart Wingate, said: “Although economic headwinds have remained strong, Gatwick has delivered financial results in line with expectations.

“This year we saw passenger growth of 1.2% and this compares favourably with our competitor airports.

“We have also continued to invest heavily across the airport to ensure our passengers enjoy a better experience every time they travel.

“In retail, we have seen good year-on-year results, which compare favourably to performance on the high street.

“Thanks to the opening of Europe’s largest World Duty Free store in South Terminal and major updates in both South and North Terminal departure lounges, we have seen income per passenger increase.”