Gatwick enjoyed an extra surge of passengers in December thanks to the rail disruption caused by the Hatfield crash.
Just over two million passengers used the airport, an increase of 12.8 per cent over the same time last year.
The figure mirrored the national trend last month when travellers opted for domestic flights rather than face disrupted train services.
The number of people using internal flights across the country, excluding the Channel Isles, rose by 14.3 per cent last month.
Gatwick public affairs director Caroline Nicholls said they had recorded a big increase, largely on domestic flights.
The country's seven major airports handled 8.8 million passengers in December, an increase of 11.2 per cent over the same time last year.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article