Some 2.7 million passengers passed through Gatwick Airport in April 2013, which was a 0.4 per cent improvement on the corresponding month in 2012.

New figures have shown that an extra 11,400 people boarded flights from the south-east airport when compared to April last year, which is impressive given the bad weather and the fact that Easter fell in March in 2013.

The average flight was 80.2 per cent full throughout the month - up by 0.3 per cent year-on-year.

It was also a good month for airline expansion at the airport, as the likes of Vietnam Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle all launched new services.

Gatwick Airport's chief financial officer Nick Dunn said the results were "pleasing".

"This activity highlights the strength of Gatwick's offering to its airlines and showcases the routes to key emerging markets that we are able to support," he remarked.

Last month, Gatwick bosses told the Airports Commission that competition is vital in the UK's aviation sector and also stressed that claims from Heathrow leaders that the country needs a major hub airport are wide of the mark.