Gatwick Airport bosses believe that changes are required to ensure the south-east of England can accommodate more air travellers in the future, but suggestions that the only way to achieve this is to create a "hub airport" are misleading.

The Airports Commission has been urged to sanction a massive expansion of Heathrow or create a brand new mega-airport - something that chief executive officer of Gatwick Airport Stewart Wingate feels would do more harm than good.

He insisted that healthy competition needs to be encouraged, as this will enable new routes to be created where there is market demand.

"For example, already this year Gatwick has added a route to Indonesia, demonstrating that competition is capable of delivering the connectivity needed by London and the UK," Mr Wingate remarked.

Gatwick's recent passenger figures have been solid, with more than 2.5 million people passing through the facility last month.

This was a 2.5 per cent improvement on March 2012 and the long-haul market performed particularly strongly.