Air passenger numbers continued their upward trend last year despite the impact of September 11.
Figures today from the Civil Aviation Authority show airports across the UK handled 181 million passengers in 2001, one per cent more than in 2000.
Domestic flights on budget airlines from regional airports rose in the wake of the Hatfield rail crash, balancing out the impact of the Twin Towers atrocity.
Passenger numbers grew by four per cent from January to August 2001 but dipped by six per cent in the wake of the terrorist attack s in New York.
At Gatwick there was an overall fall of three per cent, caused mostly by a 28 per cent fall in traffic to and from the US.
A spokeswoman for the British Airports Authority at Gatwick said: "The number of passengers was severely hit but there are now signs of recovery and confidence in air travel is growing again."
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