Gatwick sees huge passenger increase after Covid restrictions lifted
Traveller numbers went up five-fold in the space of a year
Gatwick Airport has reported a huge spike in annual passenger numbers following the end of the UK's coronavirus travel restrictions in March last year.
The West Sussex hub, which is the country's second busiest airport, said it served 32.8 million travellers in 2022.
That is more than five times as many as the 6.3 million during the previous year, and is 71% of pre-coronavirus levels in 2019.
Gatwick chief commercial officer Jonathan Pollard said: "Today's figures are extremely positive and clearly show London Gatwick's continued strong recovery.
"We still have some way to go but we're looking forward to welcoming even more passengers this year, including those flying to our growing choice of long-haul destinations."
The West Sussex airport is increasing its long-haul connectivity, with flag carrier Air India announcing it will launch routes to Goa, Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Kochi in March.
Many passengers suffered delays and cancellations in 2022 as the aviation industry failed to cope with the spike in demand for travel following the scrapping of coronavirus restrictions.