GATWICK has smashed through the 45 million annual passengers milestone.

The airport has also just completed the biggest year of investment in the its history as it continues to deliver on its ambitious plans for growth.

Annual results just published are the latest demonstration of Gatwick’s impressive growth record.

A staggering 44.1 million passengers passing through the airport in 2016/17 - an increase of 3.2 million passengers or 7.7 per cent.

This growth has been matched by record levels of service for passengers with customer satisfaction and advocacy at an all-time high.

Long-haul continues to be a success story with routes growing 13.6 per cent and now represent one in five of Gatwick’s passengers.

As capacity issues become a challenge, Gatwick will continue to see considerable growth in passenger numbers when airlines swap short haul for long haul services.

Norwegian’s new route to Buenos Aires using a B787 Dreamliner, for example, will replace a short haul European service in Gatwick’s schedule.

Stewart Wingate, CEO of Gatwick Airport, said: “It has been another record-breaking year and another chapter in the transformation of Gatwick.

“Our continued growth and success is a testament to record investment, increased competition, and our renewed focus on efficiency and service.

“It is a simple fact that, of the top 20 airports in the world by passenger growth, Gatwick is the only one with a single runway.

“We continue to offer the UK a financeable and deliverable second runway scheme which we stand ready to deliver should the Government give us the go-ahead.

“Our world record passenger numbers and increased long haul connectivity has been matched by a transformed airport experience which our passengers have recognised by giving us all-time high service quality results.

“We have, this week, broken through the 45 million annual passengers mark which is 13 million passengers a year more than we served in 2009 when Gatwick came into independent ownership.

“Gatwick has a bright future – we will invest £240 million this year as we continue our £2.5 billion programme to improve our facilities, improve our service and passenger experience, and improve our performance so we can realise our ambitious plans to grow even further.

“This will lay some of the physical groundwork for our continued growth. Improvements planned include an extension to Pier 6.”