Airports report record July passenger numbers
Airports handled record passenger numbers in July, underlining the need for urgent expansion in the south east.
Heathrow recorded the most passengers so far in one day on July 31, when 254,375 people travelled through.
Passenger numbers rose by almost 5% in July to a record 7.29 million over the same month last year.
Gatwick recorded its busiest July with 4.3 million passengers, a 6.4% increase on last year.
An additional 260,000 passengers used the airport compared with the same month in 2014, mainly due to an increase in long-haul flights and larger aircraft.
Luton Airport recorded 1.3 million passengers in July, a 16% year-on-year increase.
Chief executive Nick Barton said: "We are on track for a record-breaking summer. The continuing growth in passenger numbers makes our £100 million redevelopment project essential to the role LLA plays in easing capacity issues in the south east of England."
Stansted recorded a total of 2.19 million passengers, making July 2015 the busiest July since 2008.
The figure was up 12.5% on the same month last year, representing an increase of more than 240,000 passengers.
The total number of passengers flying in the year to July rose to 21.8 million, an increase of 16.5% over the previous 12 months.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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