British holidaymakers have pumped up new passenger records for both Heathrow and Gatwick airports in July.
The record number of passengers for Heathrow was 6.97 million, making it the busiest month the airport has experienced. The day of its fullest capacity was 27 July with nearly 240,000 travellers.
The larger aircraft in use by airlines, such as the Airbus 380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner, helped get greater numbers away.
Gatwick handled 4.1 million people in July, a new record for passengers per month.
The majority of Gatwick's growth came from passengers flying to Europe, including business trips, but the airport also saw a 6.6% increase in traffic to north America and an 8.9% jump in other long-haul destinations.
The increases were assisted by the new Norwegian Air Shuttle flights, a low-cost service from Gatwick to New York, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale.
Flights to emerging markets from Heathrow were up, especially for destinations in Mexico, China and India. Air China is planning on doubling its flights to Beijing to 51 flights a week, but this number still lags behind other European airports such as Paris Charles de Gaulle.
