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Gatwick Airport expansion call follows annual results Gatwick Airport expansion call follows annual results
(about 1 hour later)
Gatwick Airport has called for a swift decision on airport expansion in the South East after it published its annual results.Gatwick Airport has called for a swift decision on airport expansion in the South East after it published its annual results.
The airport is competing with Heathrow to expand, with a decision due to be made by the government later this year.The airport is competing with Heathrow to expand, with a decision due to be made by the government later this year.
Gatwick's pre-tax profits jumped 77% to £141m in the year to March.Gatwick's pre-tax profits jumped 77% to £141m in the year to March.
Chief executive Stewart Wingate said turnover was up by 5.5% to £673.1m after the busiest year in the airport's history. The results were published as the government announced a deferral on a decision on airport expansion until the new Conservative leader is elected.
He said the results demonstrated the support and momentum behind Gatwick. Stewart Wingate, Gatwick's chief executive, said turnover was up by 5.5% to £673.1m after the busiest year in the airport's history.
The airport chief said: "It has become ever more clear that only Gatwick can deliver a new runway for Britain and the growth the economy needs." He said the results demonstrated the support and momentum behind Gatwick as the site for expansion.
Heathrow has not yet responded to Gatwick's annual results, but the airport's boss John Holland-Kaye has previously said expanding Heathrow is the "right choice". "It has become ever more clear that only Gatwick can deliver a new runway for Britain and the growth the economy needs," Mr Wingate said.
Gatwick said 2.1m more passengers had passed through its terminals in the last 12 months - bringing the total to 40.8m, with many taking advantage of its 50 long-haul routes.
Mr Wingate said: "Aviation is changing fast and Gatwick has now entered the premier league of airports.
"In uncertain times and after decades of delay, only Gatwick can now give Britain certainty that airport expansion can finally happen.
"Gatwick can have a spade in the ground by 2020 and the first planes flying from a new runway in 2025."
'Time of uncertainty'
But, Heathrow bosses disagreed saying extending its runway capacity was key.
"If Britain wants to be confident, outward-looking and at the centre of the world's economy, then expanding Heathrow must be a key building block in the government's Brexit plan," a spokesman said.
"It will allow British exporters to trade with all the growing markets of the world. And, at a time of uncertainty, a £16bn privately-funded infrastructure investment will create jobs and growth across the UK."
The West London airport was favourite to be picked as the site for a new runway but Prime Minister David Cameron has since announced his resignation and Boris Johnson, leadership contender, has promised to lie down in front of bulldozers to stop expansion there.
Heathrow has released a poll suggesting 74% of Conservative Party members now support a third runway at Heathrow, following the EU referendum result.