GATWICK is gearing up for its busiest summer on record with 8,846,000 people set to use the airport during the school holidays.

It follows a successful June which saw 4.5 million passengers travelling through, with the airport’s long-haul routes growing by 26 per cent year-on-year.

Gatwick’s Canadian routes performed particularly well.

Other long-haul routes to experience significant growth included Lima and Kigali.

Short-haul destinations Volos and Tallin also saw huge passenger growth rates.

The volume of cargo handled by the airport grew strongly, up 19.4 per cent in June as a result of Gatwick’s long-haul network.

The trend for long-haul travel looks set to continue this summer too with Gatwick expected to grow by 19.5 per cent during the holidays.

The busiest summer days at Gatwick will be:

• Friday for departures (86,000 passengers)

• Sunday September 2 for arrivals (88,400 passengers)

• Sunday August 12 overall (167,200 passengers).

Orlando remains the most popular summer long-haul destination.

Gatwick Airport chief executive officer Stewart Wingate said: “Just one week after we added a 67th long-haul service to our extensive network – with the launch of the UK’s only direct flights to Chengdu with Air China - it’s fantastic to see that our long-haul routes are continuing to perform so strongly, with solid growth recorded in June.

“This follows news that £7.5 billion of international goods passed through Gatwick in 2017 - supporting 113,800 UK jobs - which really highlights the vital role the airport plays for its local community and the country.”