Airport Statistics Updated November 2026

Human Written & Fact Checked · Updated

230 London Gatwick Airport Statistics for 2026

London Gatwick handled 42,769,164 terminal passengers in 2025 on the UK Civil Aviation Authority's count, 1.09% fewer than in 2024 and still below 2019. It runs on one main runway, it had fewer passengers than a year earlier in every month from January to August 2026, and in September 2025 the government approved its plan to bring a second, northern runway into routine use.

This page brings together the main figures on London Gatwick (LGW): passengers each year and in 2026, the peak months, markets and routes, long-haul flights, airlines, flights and runway capacity, cargo, punctuality, who flies, getting to the airport, money and jobs, the Northern Runway, noise and emissions. Every number links to the body that published it, with the date.

Gatwick figures depend on who counts. The CAA counts terminal passengers and aircraft movements; Gatwick, its majority owner VINCI Airports and its Airspace Office publish their own counts on their own definitions, often rounded. Punctuality comes from the CAA, EUROCONTROL and Gatwick, each measured differently. Each figure here says whose it is and what it measures.

Headline figures

How many passengers use Gatwick each year?

Gatwick describes itself as the UK's second largest airport, and its traffic is still below 2019. Passenger numbers grew every year after the pandemic until 2025, when they slipped as some short-haul airlines cut back.

40.3m 2015 43.1m 2016 45.6m 2017 46.1m 2018 46.6m 2019 10.2m 2020 6.3m 2021 32.8m 2022 40.9m 2023 43.2m 2024 42.8m 2025
View data table
Terminal passengers at Gatwick each year, in millions, all from the CSV edition of the CAA's 2015-2025 table.
PeriodValue
201540.3m
201643.1m
201745.6m
201846.1m
201946.6m
202010.2m
20216.3m
202232.8m
202340.9m
202443.2m
202542.8m
Terminal passengers at Gatwick each year, in millions, all from the CSV edition of the CAA's 2015-2025 table. (CAA (terminal passengers 2015-2025), Feb 2026)
  • Gatwick handled 14.3% of terminal passengers at all UK reporting airports in 2025; in 2020 it handled 10,172 thousand, and its 2025 total was 320.5% above that. (CAA (size of UK airports 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Adding 6,077 transit passengers who stayed on board through flights, the CAA puts Gatwick's total at 42,775,241 in 2025, against 43,249,282 in 2024; there were 7,127 transit passengers in 2024. (CAA (terminal and transit passengers 2025), Feb 2026)
  • The CAA counted 46,574,786 terminal passengers at Gatwick in 2019, 6,260,072 in 2021, 32,831,088 in 2022, 40,894,242 in 2023 and 43,242,155 in 2024. (CAA (terminal passengers 2015-2025), Feb 2026)
  • Gatwick handled 35,165,404 terminal passengers in 2007, 31,342,263 in 2010 and 38,093,930 in 2014, up 7.5% on 2013. (CAA (UK airport data 2004-2014), May 2015)
  • It handled 21,040,747 terminal passengers in 1994, 31,947,524 in 2000 and 29,517,894 in 2002. (CAA (UK airport data 1994-2004), Apr 2005)
  • Gatwick's own count was 42.8 million passengers in 2025, 1.1% fewer than the 43.2 million of 2024. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)
  • Gatwick calls 2019 its busiest ever year for passengers, with 46.6 million on its own count. (Gatwick Airport (2024 annual report), Mar 2025)
  • VINCI Airports, Gatwick's majority owner, counted 42,771 thousand passengers there in 2025, and 9,531 thousand in the last quarter, down 2.5%. (VINCI Airports (2025 traffic), Jan 2026)
  • Gatwick describes itself as the UK's second largest airport and says it is 28 miles south of London. (Gatwick Airport (Nov 2026 routes release), Nov 2026)

The CAA counts terminal passengers, who join or leave a flight at Gatwick, and counts transit passengers separately. Gatwick's own figures and VINCI Airports' count are made on their own basis, so each is named and none is charted with the CAA series. The PDF edition of the CAA table prints a slightly different 2016 figure; the chart uses the CSV edition for every year.

How busy is Gatwick in 2026?

Gatwick is quieter in 2026 than in 2025. Every month from January to August had fewer passengers than a year earlier on CAA figures, and Gatwick blames capacity cuts by some low-cost airlines and the conflict in the Middle East.

2.44m Jan 2.62m Feb 3.07m Mar 3.32m Apr 3.74m May 3.87m Jun 4.29m Jul 4.61m Aug
View data table
Terminal passengers at Gatwick each month in 2026, in millions, on CAA figures. Each month comes from the release for that month; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
Jan2.44m
Feb2.62m
Mar3.07m
Apr3.32m
May3.74m
Jun3.87m
Jul4.29m
Aug4.61m
Terminal passengers at Gatwick each month in 2026, in millions, on CAA figures. Each month comes from the release for that month; the link is to the latest one. (CAA (Aug 2026 terminal and transit passengers), Oct 2026)

Monthly figures are CAA terminal passengers; August 2026 is the latest month used here. Gatwick's half-year figures and VINCI Airports' quarterly figures are the airport's own counts, rounded, and are not added to or compared with the CAA's. The 41 million and 43 million are Gatwick forecasts, made in August and March 2026.

Which are Gatwick's busiest months?

Summer is Gatwick's peak by a wide margin. On CAA monthly figures the summer months carry the most traffic, and Gatwick expected its busiest days of summer 2025 in early August.

2.54m Jan 2.74m Feb 3.15m Mar 3.56m Apr 3.89m May 4.12m Jun 4.43m Jul 4.66m Aug 4.15m Sep 3.79m Oct 2.63m Nov 3.11m Dec
View data table
Terminal passengers at Gatwick each month in 2025, in millions, on CAA figures. Each month comes from the CAA's monthly tables; the link is to the CAA's 2025 data page.
PeriodValue
Jan2.54m
Feb2.74m
Mar3.15m
Apr3.56m
May3.89m
Jun4.12m
Jul4.43m
Aug4.66m
Sep4.15m
Oct3.79m
Nov2.63m
Dec3.11m
Terminal passengers at Gatwick each month in 2025, in millions, on CAA figures. Each month comes from the CAA's monthly tables; the link is to the CAA's 2025 data page. (CAA (UK airport data 2025, monthly), Oct 2026)

Monthly figures are CAA terminal passengers. The January to August 2025 values are as printed in the CAA's 2026 tables for the same month a year earlier. The busiest-day dates were Gatwick's expectations before the summer, not counts, and its April to June total is its own figure.

Where do Gatwick passengers fly to and from?

Europe dominates: most Gatwick passengers fly short-haul, many of them to Spain. Long-haul traffic grew in 2025, led by Africa and Asia, but it is well below 2019, when North America was a much bigger market.

  1. 1 Europe 34.0m
  2. 2 Northern Africa 1.9m
  3. 3 North America 1.7m
  4. 4 Middle East and Central Asia 1.6m
  5. 5 Caribbean and Central America 1.3m
  6. 6 Far East and South Asia 1.2m
  7. 7 Sub-Saharan Africa 1.0m
  8. 8 South America 0.1m
Gatwick passengers by market in 2025, in millions, on Gatwick's own count from its annual report. Europe includes the UK and the Channel Islands. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)
  • The CAA counted 39,811,877 international terminal passengers at Gatwick in 2025: 26,888,932 on EU routes, down 2.36%, and 12,922,945 on other international routes, up 1.42%. (CAA (international passengers 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Charter flights carried 1,549,320 of the passengers on EU routes and 503,615 of those on other international routes. (CAA (international passengers 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Gatwick had 2,957,287 domestic terminal passengers in 2025, down 0.08% from 2,959,778 in 2024; 2,752 of them flew on charters. (CAA (domestic passengers 2025), Feb 2026)
  • On Gatwick's own count, 34.0 million passengers flew on routes to Europe, including the UK and Channel Islands, in 2025, against 34.8 million in 2024, and 1.9 million on Northern Africa routes, up from 1.7 million. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)
  • Long-haul routes carried 6.9 million passengers in 2025: North America 1.7 million, Middle East and Central Asia 1.6 million, Caribbean and Central America 1.3 million, Far East and South Asia 1.2 million, Sub-Saharan Africa 1.0 million and South America 0.1 million. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)
  • Gatwick says long-haul traffic rose 3.3% in 2025 while short-haul traffic fell 1.9%. (Gatwick Airport (Mar 2026 investor update), Mar 2026)
  • In 2019 Gatwick counted 4.1 million passengers on North American routes, 2.2 million on Caribbean and Central America routes and 9.0 million on long-haul routes in all; North America had 1.9 million in 2024. (Gatwick Airport (2024 annual report), Mar 2025)
  • Long-haul passengers were 16% of Gatwick's total in 2025, its Airspace Office reports. (Gatwick Airspace Office (2025 annual report), 2026)
  • In the first half of 2026 Gatwick counted 15.3 million passengers on European routes, against 15.9 million a year earlier; North America fell to 0.5 million from 0.7 million, while Far East and South Asia rose to 0.7 million from 0.6 million. (Gatwick Airport (Jan-Jun 2026 interim report), Aug 2026)

Gatwick assigns passengers to markets by its own regions, which put the UK in Europe. The CAA splits international passengers into EU and other routes and counts domestic passengers separately, so the two sets of figures are not compared.

What are Gatwick's busiest routes?

Gatwick is a holiday airport, and its routes with the most passengers are mostly sun destinations in Spain and around the Mediterranean.

  1. 1 Malaga 1.24m
  2. 2 Barcelona 1.23m
  3. 3 Dublin 1.00m
  4. 4 Dubai 0.96m
  5. 5 Alicante 0.85m
  6. 6 Rome Fiumicino 0.82m
  7. 7 Faro 0.81m
  8. 8 Milan Malpensa 0.75m
  9. 9 Geneva 0.73m
  10. 10 Palma de Mallorca 0.68m
Passengers on ten of Gatwick's international routes in 2025, in millions, both directions, from the CAA's route table. (CAA (international routes 2025), Feb 2026)
  • On the CAA's route table, Barcelona had 1,227,092 passengers in 2025, down 9.2% from 1,350,954, Dublin 1,000,460, down 5.0%, and Dubai 963,164, up 4.1%. (CAA (international routes 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Alicante had 854,016 passengers, up 8.4%, Rome Fiumicino 822,305, down 11.4%, and Faro 810,451. (CAA (international routes 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Milan Malpensa (751,460), Geneva (728,821), Palma de Mallorca (683,890) and Tenerife South (674,903) followed. (CAA (international routes 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Antalya fell 14.0% to 636,519 passengers, while Madrid had 608,470, Marrakesh 590,787 and Istanbul 586,961. (CAA (international routes 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Amsterdam fell 26.3% to 537,782 passengers; Malta (526,285), Copenhagen (517,835), Nice (501,850), Lisbon (493,964), Athens (486,124), Seville (484,973, up 18.8%) and Lanzarote (460,563) were close behind. (CAA (international routes 2025), Feb 2026)
  • In 2019 Barcelona had 1,586,932 passengers, Dublin 1,347,200, Malaga 1,112,615, Amsterdam 1,098,936 and Madrid 1,030,956, on the CAA's 2019 route table. (CAA (international routes 2019), Mar 2020)
  • For summer 2025 Gatwick named Malaga, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca as its most popular short-haul destinations, and Dubai, Shanghai and Orlando as the long-haul routes with the most bookings. (Gatwick Airport (summer 2025 release), Jul 2025)

The CAA counts terminal passengers on direct flights between Gatwick and each airport, in both directions, including people changing planes. It lists routes by region and country, so the order of routes here is ours, not the CAA's. Gatwick's summer 2025 list is based on bookings and is a different measure.

Which UK routes fly from Gatwick?

  • On the CAA's domestic route table, Jersey had 479,468 passengers in 2025, up 25.6%, Edinburgh 452,010, down 5.1%, and Glasgow 429,579, down 5.6%. (CAA (domestic routes 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Belfast International had 388,371 passengers, down 12.6%, and Belfast City 287,957, up 3.7%. (CAA (domestic routes 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Guernsey (258,825), Inverness (228,901), Aberdeen (202,456) and the Isle of Man (182,983, up 10.5%) followed, while Newquay fell 47.2% to 43,948. (CAA (domestic routes 2025), Feb 2026)

The CAA counts the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man as domestic routes.

Which long-haul routes fly from Gatwick?

Gatwick's long-haul network has moved east and south since 2019. Orlando and New York carry far fewer passengers than before the pandemic, while China, the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and Lagos have grown fast.

  1. 1 Dubai 963k
  2. 2 Marrakesh 591k
  3. 3 Shanghai Pudong 510k
  4. 4 Orlando 479k
  5. 5 Cancun 363k
  6. 6 Doha 326k
  7. 7 New York JFK 320k
  8. 8 Sharm el Sheikh 299k
  9. 9 Hurghada 263k
  10. 10 Mauritius 249k
Passengers on Gatwick's routes outside Europe in 2025, North Africa included, in thousands, both directions, from the CAA's route table. (CAA (international routes 2025), Feb 2026)

Route figures are CAA terminal passengers in both directions. Routes that started during 2024 or 2025 have part-year totals in their first year. The China seat share is Gatwick's own analysis, and the winter 2026-27 figures are schedules, not traffic.

Which airlines fly from Gatwick?

easyJet is by far the biggest airline at Gatwick, on passengers and on flights, and British Airways is next on flights through its BA Euroflyer arm. More airlines are flying from Gatwick in 2026 than in 2025, with Jet2 opening a base in March.

  1. 1 UK airlines, scheduled 27.86m
  2. 2 EU airlines, scheduled 7.47m
  3. 3 Other airlines, scheduled 5.39m
  4. 4 UK airlines, charter 2.01m
  5. 5 EU airlines, charter 0.04m
  6. 6 Other airlines, charter 0.01m
Terminal passengers at Gatwick in 2025 by the nationality of the airline and type of service, in millions, on CAA figures. (CAA (passengers by airline nationality 2025), Feb 2026)

The CAA groups passengers by the nationality of the airline, so UK airlines covers every UK carrier, not one company. Gatwick's airline noise table counts movements by each airline's operating certificate, so easyJet and Wizz Air appear under several names; it covers airlines with 10 or more movements a week and is not compared with the CAA's movement total. Airline and destination counts differ between Gatwick's releases because they cover different periods.

How many flights does Gatwick handle?

Gatwick has one main runway and uses it close to its declared limit at peak times. Flights in 2025 were still below 2019, and EUROCONTROL lists Gatwick among the European airports that often run near their maximum capacity.

267.8k 2015 280.7k 2016 285.9k 2017 283.9k 2018 285.0k 2019 80.2k 2020 55.8k 2021 217.6k 2022 256.9k 2023 265.4k 2024 263.1k 2025
View data table
Aircraft movements at Gatwick each year, in thousands, on CAA figures.
PeriodValue
2015267.8k
2016280.7k
2017285.9k
2018283.9k
2019285.0k
202080.2k
202155.8k
2022217.6k
2023256.9k
2024265.4k
2025263.1k
Aircraft movements at Gatwick each year, in thousands, on CAA figures. (CAA (aircraft movements 2015-2025), Feb 2026)
  • Of Gatwick's 2025 aircraft movements, 259,391 were air transport movements, 2,943 positioning flights, 353 business aviation, 198 test and training, 156 other, 70 official, 9 air taxi and 2 military. (CAA (aircraft movements 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Aircraft movements were 284,987 in 2019, fell to 80,161 in 2020 and 55,817 in 2021, and were 265,358 in 2024. (CAA (aircraft movements 2015-2025), Feb 2026)
  • Gatwick had 266,550 aircraft movements in 2007, 240,500 in 2010 and 259,962 in 2014. (CAA (UK airport data 2004-2014), May 2015)
  • It had 191,646 aircraft movements in 1994 and 260,854 in 2000. (CAA (UK airport data 1994-2004), Apr 2005)
  • Including flights scheduled and then cancelled, the CAA counts 261,529 air transport movements at Gatwick in 2025; 2,147 were cancelled, leaving 259,382. (CAA (cancelled movements 2025), Feb 2026)
  • All of those air transport movements were by passenger aircraft and none by cargo-only aircraft, against 265,608 in 2024. (CAA (air transport movements comparison 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Gatwick's declared capacity was a maximum of 55 scheduled movements an hour in 2025, rising to 57 from summer 2026; Gatwick calls itself the most efficient single runway airport in the world. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)
  • Gatwick's Main Runway is 3,316 metres long and is served by two terminals, South and North. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)
  • A rapid exit taxiway cut the time aircraft spend on the main runway by an average of 5%, and Gatwick says it became the world's first single runway airport to use time-based separation for arriving aircraft, from March 2025. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)
  • EUROCONTROL lists Gatwick with Athens, Sabiha Gokcen, Dublin, Palma, Malaga and Geneva as airports that often operate close to their declared maximum capacity. (EUROCONTROL (Performance Review Report 2025), Mar 2026)
  • Airline load factor at Gatwick was 84.5% in 2025, against 84.7% in 2024, and A320neo and A321neo aircraft flew 16.8% of movements, down from 18.2%. (Gatwick Airport (sustainability-linked financing report 2025), 2026)

The CAA counts aircraft movements as all landings and take-offs; air transport movements are commercial passenger and cargo flights. Some CAA tables include flights that were scheduled and then cancelled, so their totals differ slightly. Gatwick's own reports, VINCI Airports and Gatwick's Airspace Office publish other movement counts on their own definitions, and those totals are not used here. Load factor and aircraft type shares are Gatwick's own figures.

How many flights has Gatwick had in 2026?

Monthly figures are the CAA's; air transport movements are the commercial flights within the total.

How much cargo goes through Gatwick?

Gatwick is a small cargo airport, and all of its freight travels in the holds of passenger aircraft, almost all of it on routes outside the EU. Freight has grown every year since 2021 but remains well below the levels of the early 2000s.

73.4k t 2015 79.6k t 2016 97.0k t 2017 112.6k t 2018 110.4k t 2019 26.1k t 2020 11.6k t 2021 36.4k t 2022 61.1k t 2023 104.0k t 2024 120.3k t 2025
View data table
Freight handled at Gatwick each year, in thousand tonnes, on CAA figures, which leave out mail.
PeriodValue
201573.4k t
201679.6k t
201797.0k t
2018112.6k t
2019110.4k t
202026.1k t
202111.6k t
202236.4k t
202361.1k t
2024104.0k t
2025120.3k t
Freight handled at Gatwick each year, in thousand tonnes, on CAA figures, which leave out mail. (CAA (freight 2015-2025), Feb 2026)
  • All of Gatwick's 2025 freight travelled in passenger aircraft; cargo aircraft carried none in 2025 or 2024. (CAA (freight by aircraft type 2025), Feb 2026)
  • 116,287 tonnes moved on scheduled passenger flights on non-EU international routes in 2025 and 3,602 tonnes on non-EU charters; EU routes accounted for 330 tonnes scheduled and 95 tonnes charter. (CAA (international and domestic freight 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Freight at Gatwick was 110,358 tonnes in 2019, fell to 26,063 tonnes in 2020 and 11,623 tonnes in 2021, and recovered to 103,961 tonnes in 2024. (CAA (freight 2015-2025), Feb 2026)
  • Gatwick handled 222,778 tonnes of freight in 2005, 107,702 in 2008 and 88,508 in 2014. (CAA (UK airport data 2004-2014), May 2015)
  • It handled 222,269 tonnes in 1994 and 318,905 tonnes in 2000. (CAA (UK airport data 1994-2004), Apr 2005)
  • Gatwick handled 1,970 tonnes of mail in 2025, down 8%, against 7,640 tonnes in 2019. (CAA (mail 2015-2025), Feb 2026)

The CAA counts freight and mail separately, in metric tonnes; the freight figures here leave out mail. The route split uses the CAA's route regions, not the nationality of the airline.

Are Gatwick flights on time?

Gatwick's punctuality improved sharply in 2025 after several poor years, but it stayed below the UK average on the CAA's measure. August 2026 was weaker again.

18.3 min 2018 18.0 min 2019 6.5 min 2021 26.4 min 2022 27.5 min 2023 23.6 min 2024 16.8 min 2025
View data table
Average delay per flight at Gatwick, in minutes, on the CAA's measure; 2020 is left out. Each year comes from the release for that year; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
201818.3 min
201918.0 min
20216.5 min
202226.4 min
202327.5 min
202423.6 min
202516.8 min
Average delay per flight at Gatwick, in minutes, on the CAA's measure; 2020 is left out. Each year comes from the release for that year; the link is to the latest one. (CAA (punctuality 2025), Mar 2026)
  • The average delay at Gatwick was 16.8 minutes in 2025, down from 23.6 in 2024, and 0.82% of flights were cancelled, against 1.54%. (CAA (punctuality 2025), Mar 2026)
  • Across all UK airports the CAA reports, 72.66% of flights were on time in 2025, against 66.93% in 2024, with an average delay of 15.1 minutes. (CAA (punctuality 2025), Mar 2026)
  • In August 2026, 58.21% of Gatwick flights were on time, against 60.42% in August 2025, with an average delay of 24.4 minutes and 1.24% cancelled. (CAA (punctuality Aug 2026), Oct 2026)
  • All UK reporting airports averaged 64.81% on time that month, Heathrow 73.79%, Stansted 61.28% and Manchester 52.43%. (CAA (punctuality Aug 2026), Oct 2026)
  • In 2019 the average delay at Gatwick was 18.0 minutes and 0.76% of flights were cancelled; in 2018, 69.05% of flights were on time. (CAA (punctuality 2019), Jul 2022)
  • In 2022 the average delay was 26.4 minutes and 1.60% of flights were cancelled; in 2021, when traffic was far lower, 88.25% of flights were on time. (CAA (punctuality 2022), Mar 2023)
  • In 2023 the average delay was 27.5 minutes and 1.85% of flights were cancelled; in 2022, 57.94% of flights were on time. (CAA (punctuality 2023), Sep 2024)
  • EUROCONTROL measured Gatwick's arrival punctuality at 71.9% in 2025, up 8.5 points on 2024, and its departure punctuality at 70.9%, up 10.2 points. (EUROCONTROL (Performance Review Report 2025), Mar 2026)
  • Air traffic flow management delay at Gatwick averaged 1.33 minutes per arrival in 2025, and extra time in the approach area 5.11 minutes per arrival. (EUROCONTROL (Performance Review Report 2025), Mar 2026)
  • Extra taxi-out time averaged 6.54 minutes per departure, and arriving aircraft flew level for an average of 4.4 minutes in descent. (EUROCONTROL (Performance Review Report 2025), Mar 2026)
  • On Gatwick's own measure, on-time departures improved to 70% in 2025 from 59% in 2024, its best in a decade outside the pandemic. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)
  • Gatwick kept its on-time departure performance at 75% in the first half of 2026. (Gatwick Airport (Jan-Jun 2026 interim report), Aug 2026)

The CAA counts arrivals and departures together against the schedule, and a flight is on time if early or up to 15 minutes late. EUROCONTROL measures arrivals and departures separately at the stand, and Gatwick's own figure covers departures only, so the three are not compared even where they look close. 2021 looks good because traffic was a fraction of normal.

Who flies from Gatwick, and how do they rate it?

Most Gatwick passengers are UK residents travelling for leisure, and very few change planes there. The shares of business travellers and visitors from abroad have fallen since 2019, and passengers rated the airport lower in 2025.

15% 2019 10% 2023 10% 2024 8% 2025
View data table
Share of Gatwick passengers travelling on business, on the CAA's passenger survey. The survey was not run at Gatwick from 2020 to 2022.
PeriodValue
201915%
202310%
202410%
20258%
Share of Gatwick passengers travelling on business, on the CAA's passenger survey. The survey was not run at Gatwick from 2020 to 2022. (CAA (passenger survey 2025), 2026)
  • In the CAA's survey, 8% of Gatwick passengers travelled on business in 2025, against 15% in 2019 and 13% across all surveyed airports. (CAA (passenger survey 2025), 2026)
  • 17% of Gatwick passengers lived outside the UK in 2025, against 32% in 2019, 26% in 2023 and 21% in 2024. (CAA (passenger survey 2025), 2026)
  • 5% of Gatwick passengers were connecting between flights in 2025, against 9% in 2019; the share was 11% across all surveyed airports and 26% at Heathrow. (CAA (passenger survey 2025), 2026)
  • Passengers gave Gatwick an average rating of 8.20 in 2025, against 8.47 in 2019, 8.40 in 2024 and 8.39 across all surveyed airports. (CAA (passenger survey 2025), 2026)
  • Of the 42.18 million Gatwick passengers in the CAA's 2025 survey, 37.82 million (89.7%) started or ended an international journey at Gatwick and 2.45 million (5.8%) a domestic one. (CAA (passenger survey 2025, passenger types), 2026)
  • 1.42 million (3.4%) were connecting between international flights and 0.50 million (1.2%) were connecting with domestic flights. (CAA (passenger survey 2025, passenger types), 2026)
  • Gatwick met 99% (582 of 588) of its service standard measures in 2025; it says 95% of passengers rated their departure experience good or excellent, and more than 95% passed through security in five minutes or less. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)
  • Gatwick had 116 shops, cafes and restaurants across its two terminals and 11 lounges at the end of 2025. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)
  • Gatwick says it helped more than 850,000 passengers who needed assistance in 2025. (Gatwick Airport (Mar 2026 investor update), Mar 2026)
  • The CAA rated Gatwick's assistance service for disabled and less mobile passengers Very Good in 2025/26, for a second year running; 5.99 million passengers used assistance at UK airports in 2025. (CAA (accessibility report 2025/26), Aug 2026)

The CAA's figures are survey estimates weighted to traffic, not counts, so the survey total differs from the CAA's passenger count. The CAA summary does not state the rating scale. Gatwick's service, security and assistance figures are its own measures; the CAA's accessibility rating covers April 2025 to March 2026.

How do passengers get to Gatwick?

Rail is Gatwick's main public transport link, yet private cars still bring the most passengers. On the CAA's survey, public transport's share is a little lower than in 2019.

  1. 1 Private car 41.6%
  2. 2 Rail 38.7%
  3. 3 Taxi, minicab or Uber 14.0%
  4. 4 Bus or coach 5.0%
  5. 5 Hire car 0.7%
How passengers starting or ending their journey at Gatwick made the last part of the trip to the airport in 2025, share of passengers, on the CAA's survey. (CAA (passenger survey 2025, surface access), 2026)

The CAA's survey records the last mode passengers used to reach the airport. Gatwick publishes its own public transport share, based on the same survey, which differs from the CAA's; only the CAA's is used here. The staff figure comes from Gatwick's own staff survey and covers people working across the airport.

How busy is Gatwick Airport station?

  • Gatwick Airport station had an estimated 21,211,048 entries and exits from April 2024 to March 2025, 21st in Great Britain, plus 1,156,551 interchanges. (ORR (station usage 2024-25), Dec 2025)
  • Its main origin or destination station was London Victoria, with 5,455,484 journeys. (ORR (station usage 2024-25), Dec 2025)
  • ORR ranks the flow between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria sixth among station-to-station flows in Great Britain in 2024-25. (ORR (station usage 2024-25 release), Dec 2025)
  • Entries and exits at the station were 12,814,802 in 2009-10, 21,225,246 in 2018-19, 1,686,444 in 2020-21 and 19,489,656 in 2023-24. (ORR (station usage time series), Dec 2025)
  • Passengers changing trains at Gatwick Airport numbered 1,687,742 in 2018-19 and 319,081 in 2020-21. (ORR (station interchanges time series), Dec 2025)
  • Network Rail's station upgrade, opened in November 2023, added eight escalators, five lifts and four stairways and 500 square metres of extra space. (Network Rail (Gatwick Airport station), Nov 2023)

ORR counts everyone using the station, including airport staff and people not flying, over financial years from April to March, so its figures are not air passengers.

How much does Gatwick earn, and who owns it?

Airline charges are the largest part of Gatwick's revenue, ahead of shops and car parks, and the airport turns a large share of its revenue into operating profit. Profit fell slightly in 2025 as costs rose, and its charges are capped under commitments the CAA accepted.

  • Airport and traffic charges £607.4m
  • Retail £238.8m
  • Car parking £148.1m
  • Other income £56.9m
  • Operational facilities and utilities £44.1m
  • Property £36.8m
Gatwick's group revenue in 2025 by type, in £ million, from its annual report. (Gatwick Airport (2025 annual report), Mar 2026)

Figures are for Ivy Holdco Limited, Gatwick's holding company, for calendar years; half-year figures are unaudited. The regulatory asset base shown is the measure in Gatwick's lending covenants, not one set by the CAA.

How many people work at Gatwick?

Staff numbers cover Gatwick's operating company only, not everyone who works at the airport. The Oxera jobs and value figures come from a study cited in Gatwick's annual report.

Will Gatwick get a second runway?

Yes, in planning terms: the government granted consent in September 2025, and the courts threw out the legal claims against it in 2026. The scheme brings Gatwick's standby northern runway into routine use, and the extra passengers it allows are forecasts, not certainties.

The 2047 passenger figures are forecasts: Gatwick's own as the applicant, and the Examining Authority's view of them. Noise limits and the public transport condition are as described in the decision letter; the final values in the order as made were not checked for this page. The cost, jobs and economic figures are Gatwick's own estimates.

How much aircraft noise does Gatwick make?

Noise complaints fell in 2025, and most come from a small number of people under the arrival paths. On the CAA's modelling, the area exposed to Gatwick's summer daytime noise shrank in 2025.

5,068 2021 16,431 2022 10,794 2023 11,884 2024 9,509 2025
View data table
Noise complaints received by Gatwick each year, from its Airspace Office annual report.
PeriodValue
20215,068
202216,431
202310,794
202411,884
20259,509
Noise complaints received by Gatwick each year, from its Airspace Office annual report. (Gatwick Airspace Office (2025 annual report), 2026)
  • Complaints fell 20% in 2025 while the number of people complaining rose 9%; 80% came from residents under the arrivals swathe and 70% were made during westerly operations. (Gatwick Airspace Office (2025 annual report), 2026)
  • Gatwick received 16,431 complaints from 664 people in 2022, 10,794 from 545 in 2023 and 11,884 from 327 in 2024; in 2019 there were 25,593 from 698. (Gatwick Airspace Office (2025 annual report), 2026)
  • By quarter, complaints in 2025 were 1,374 in the first, 2,993 in the second, 3,085 in the third and 2,057 in the fourth, up 8.3% on the same quarter of 2024. (Gatwick Airspace Office (2025 annual report), 2026)
  • 10,178 flights operated in core night hours in summer 2025 and 1,283 in the first 10 weeks of the 2025/26 winter season, both within the Department for Transport's limits. (Gatwick Airspace Office (2025 annual report), 2026)
  • From October 2025 to October 2028 Gatwick may operate up to 11,200 night movements in each summer season and 3,250 in each winter season, with noise quotas of 5,150 and 1,785. (DfT (night flight restrictions decision), Dec 2024)
  • Gatwick's runway direction split was 61% westerly and 39% easterly in 2025, against a long-term average of 68% and 32%; track-keeping conformance was 92.28% and continuous descent achievement 90.87%. (Gatwick Airspace Office (2025 annual report), 2026)
  • The Airbus A320 family made 73% of all operations in 2025, and the quietest Chapter 14 aircraft made 67% of movements, up from 58% in 2021. (Gatwick Airspace Office (2025 annual report), 2026)
  • The CAA's modelled summer day 51 dB LAeq,16h contour shrank 5% to 108.1 km2 in 2025, and the population inside it fell 11% to 15,600. (CAA (Gatwick noise contours 2025), May 2026)
  • 6,600 people lived inside the 54 dB contour, 1,900 inside the 57 dB contour and 800 inside the 60 dB contour. (CAA (Gatwick noise contours 2025), May 2026)
  • The summer night 45 dB LAeq,8h contour covered 122.0 km2 with 16,000 people inside it; Gatwick averaged 722.0 movements per 16-hour summer day and 120.3 per 8-hour night. (CAA (Gatwick noise contours 2025), May 2026)
  • The CAA says the 57 dB contour fell to its lowest ever area of 38.7 km2 in 2019, and to an all-time low of 7.0 km2 in 2020. (CAA (Gatwick noise contours 2025), May 2026)
  • The N65 contour, where 20 or more aircraft a day are louder than 65 dB, covered 118.5 km2 with 17,300 people in summer 2025. (CAA (Gatwick noise contours 2025), May 2026)

Complaint counts follow Gatwick's handling rules, which have changed over the years, so long-run comparisons are not like for like. Noise contours are modelled by the CAA for an average summer day or night, with populations rounded to the nearest 100. The movement averages in the contour report cover the summer period and are not compared with annual totals.

How much carbon does Gatwick produce?

Almost all of Gatwick's carbon footprint comes from aircraft, not from the airport itself. Emissions under Gatwick's direct control have fallen sharply since 2019, and it aims for net zero on them by 2030.

12,228 t 2019 9,201 t 2023 7,617 t 2024 6,692 t 2025
View data table
Gatwick's market-based Scope 1 and 2 emissions, in tonnes of CO2e, from its sustainability-linked financing report. Only these years are published.
PeriodValue
201912,228 t
20239,201 t
20247,617 t
20256,692 t
Gatwick's market-based Scope 1 and 2 emissions, in tonnes of CO2e, from its sustainability-linked financing report. Only these years are published. (Gatwick Airport (sustainability-linked financing report 2025), 2026)

Scope 1 and 2 cover Gatwick's own sources and the energy it buys; Scope 3 covers aircraft, passenger journeys and other sources linked to the airport. Market-based figures count Gatwick's renewable electricity purchases, so they are much lower than location-based ones. All targets are Gatwick's own.

Glossary

CAA
The UK Civil Aviation Authority, which regulates Gatwick and publishes UK airport traffic, punctuality, passenger survey and noise contour data.
VINCI Airports
Gatwick's majority owner, which publishes quarterly traffic for the airports it runs.
DfT
The UK Department for Transport, which decided the Northern Runway application and sets night flight limits at Gatwick.
ExA
The Examining Authority, the Planning Inspectorate panel that examined the Northern Runway application and made recommendations to the government.
DCO
Development Consent Order, the planning permission granted for a nationally significant project such as the Northern Runway.
ORR
The Office of Rail and Road, which estimates how many people use each railway station in Great Britain.
EUROCONTROL
The European organisation that manages air traffic across its member states and reviews airport punctuality and delays.
Terminal passengers
The CAA's main measure: passengers joining or leaving a flight at the airport. Connecting passengers are counted on arrival and again on departure.
Transit passengers
Passengers who stay on board a flight that stops at the airport. They are not the same as connecting passengers.
Aircraft movements
All landings and take-offs, including positioning, training and private flights.
ATM
Air transport movement: a commercial passenger or cargo flight landing or taking off.
Declared capacity
The maximum number of scheduled flights an hour the airport offers to airlines.
Load factor
Passengers as a share of the seats airlines offer.
OTP15
EUROCONTROL's punctuality measure: the share of flights leaving or reaching the stand less than 16 minutes late.
ATFM delay
Air traffic flow management delay: time aircraft are held because of capacity limits en route or at the airport.
LAeq / N65
Noise measures: the average sound level over a day or night period, and the number of aircraft louder than 65 dB.
Chapter 14
The ICAO standard for the quietest aircraft types.
Scope 1, 2 and 3
Greenhouse gas emissions from an organisation's own sources, from the energy it buys, and from everything else linked to it, such as aircraft.
EBITDA
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, a common measure of operating profit.

Methodology and sources

Figures come from the UK Civil Aviation Authority's annual and monthly airport data, punctuality data, passenger survey, accessibility report and noise contours, the Department for Transport's Northern Runway decision and night flight rules, the Planning Inspectorate, the courts, EUROCONTROL, the Office of Rail and Road, Network Rail, VINCI Airports, British Airways, easyJet, and Gatwick's own annual and interim reports, investor updates, capital plan, sustainability reports, Airspace Office report and releases. Each figure links to the body that produced it, with the date. CAA terminal passengers, Gatwick's own counts, VINCI's counts and survey estimates are kept apart, as are the movement counts of different producers, freight and mail, and the three punctuality measures. Where Gatwick's own documents disagree on a figure, it is left out. Route orders are our sort of the CAA's tables. Forecasts, plans and targets are labelled with who made them and when. The page is reviewed monthly and the date is shown at the top.