Reduced Annual Losses To Just Under $45 Million

A 1.2 percent rise in passenger traffic has allowed Gatwick Airport to report a reduction in its losses to £29.1 million ($44.5 million). That was a 36.3 percent improvement over the previous financial year.

The a news release, Gatwick management indicated that the losses were due to the "asset-intensive nature of the business," as well as ongoing infrastructure investments. Global Infrastructure Partners, which controls the airport, said it spent some $412 million in facilities improvements during the past fiscal year.

“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 favorably with our competitor airports. While our turnover has increased by 4.2% to £538.9 million and EBITDA improved by 2.5% to £227.1 million, the airport made a loss in the financial year of £29.1 million," said Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate.

"We are proud of our excellent operational performance this year, particularly through major events such as the Olympics, and we are the only major London airport to have achieved 100% of our service quality targets. This led to record passenger satisfaction.

“It has also been a positive year for welcoming new airlines to Gatwick and attracting new links to key growth markets including China, Russia, Indonesia and Turkey, adding to existing routes which have been expanded such as our services to Vietnam."

Wingate said that the airport has begun detailed work on the options for a new runway. Submissions made to the Airports Commission this year include papers on Aviation Connectivity and the Economy, Making Best Use of Existing Capacity in the Short and Medium Term, and Aviation and Climate Change.

FMI: www.gatwickairport.com