Long-haul growth boosts Gatwick Airport earnings

Gatwick Airport posted a jump in full-year earnings on Tuesday, underpinned by growth in long-haul passenger numbers.

In the year to the end of March 2019, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisaiton pushed up 7.3% to £441.4m, while pre-tax profit increased 2.9% to £208.1m on revenue of £810.8m, up 6.1%.

An additional 1.1m long-haul passengers travelled through the airport over the year, taking passenger numbers to 46.4m. Gatwick said long-haul growth was driven by its growing Far East connections, which rose 45% compared to last year. It said that around 1 in 5 airport passengers now travel long-haul to and from Gatwick.

Income per passenger increased by 4.5% over the year to £17.47, while the airport's noise footprint reduced by 7% thanks to improved operations procedures and the introduction of new, quieter aircraft.

Chief executive officer Stewart Wingate said: "Over the last year, we have achieved strong passenger growth matched by a reduction in our local noise footprint; robust financial results matched by record levels of investment back into the airport; and growing global connections fuelling increased trade and tourism opportunities.

"These strong results give us a firm foundation for future sustainable growth and later this year we look forward to publishing our final master plan which will help set the long-term growth and development plan for Gatwick."

Gatwick Airport was bought by French construction group Vinci for £2.9bn in December 2018.