Gatwick passenger numbers rose on European flights

The West Sussex airport handled 3.6 million passengers in August - a 2% increase on the same period last year.

Across the country, BAA said August was its busiest month ever as holidaymakers headed abroad desite the heat at home.

The group said the increase continued an upward trend seen in recent months as the airline industry recovered from the impact of the Iraq war and the Sars outbreak in the Far East, which battered passengers' confidence.

The fastest growth was for scheduled European traffic as holidaymakers took advantage of cheap deals offered by no frills carriers.

A spokesman said Gatwick was helped by a 20% in the number of flights to European destinations last month.

Air transport movements - the number of take offs and landings - at Gatwick was marginally up 0.3% to 23,917.