Driven largely by long-haul expansion, the airport handled more than 3.3 million passengers in March, a year-on-year increase of 8.4%.

The increase helped drive an 8% overall boost on passenger numbers to 43,969,000.

Stewart Wingate, Gatwick chief executive, said: “Gatwick is booming. We have just hit 44 million passengers a year – a world record for a single runway airport – and a mark that some predicted we would not hit until 2035, in 18 years’ time!”

“Our passengers continue to show confidence in foreign travel, particularly to the growing number of long haul destinations that Gatwick now serves.

“We launched 20 new long haul routes last year alone and even more will start this summer, including to Seattle, Denver and Xi’an – our third destination in China – with our Hong Kong service also going daily.

“This long haul growth is also driving up the amount of cargo flown out from Gatwick.

“We’ve seen a 34% increase in cargo this month alone, which is important as the UK readjusts and focuses attention on global destinations further afield.

“At this crucial time for the country and the economy, Gatwick continues to stand ready and offers the UK Government a credible and deliverable option for runway expansion.”

With new routes to Denver and Seattle just announced, long haul traffic to North America grew particularly strongly, up 37% in March, with services to LA, Boston and Toronto growing most.

Cape Town, Hong Kong and Costa Rica were top long haul destinations to other parts of the world and contributed to a 34% growth in the volume cargo compared to the same month in 2016.