Gatwick has set a new record for global passenger numbers. 2.7 million people travelled through the airport in December - up nearly 5 per cent. With more than 40-million passing through last year - it set a global record for a single runway airport. Bosses says the figure underlines the airport's case for expansion.

Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate said: "2015 was a record-breaking year for Gatwick as the airport continued to break new ground. We served 40.3 million passengers - the most from any single runway anywhere in the world. A Government decision this year backing Gatwick expansion will mean that Britain finally solves its long standing problem of airport capacity in the South East. Our plan is legal, affordable, cleaner and quieter and will deliver for Britain."

It's the airport's 34th consecutive month of traffic growth. Long-haul routes performed particularly strongly - up 7.6% with North Atlantic routes driving this growth - up 4.7% on December 2014. Destinations contributing to this North Atlantic growth include Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Toronto. Strong growth was also seen from winter sun destinations including Goa, Jamaica, Dubai and Barbados