Heathrow Airport: Passengers reach record high on summer boom

Heathrow Airport smashed through its record-breaking 30m passenger target over the summer. It welcomed 30.7m between June and September, a record for the group.

The figures brought the total number of passengers over the first nine months of the year to 63.1m, compared to 59.4m in 2023 – a record.

The busiest day(s) in the airport’s history were recorded on 24 July and 2 September, respectively.

Olympic travellers taking advantage of European city breaks and major music stars performing in the UK caused a late summer spike. The company has hiked its 2024 passenger forecast to 83.8m to reflect the growth.

All regions of the world except Africa visited Heathrow more than they had in 2023, with double-digit growth for the UK and Asia Pacific regions

While arrival punctuality at the airport ticked down slightly thanks to airspace closures and weather, departure punctuality jumped from 62 per cent to 68 per cent, while security performance and baggage connections also rose slightly.

Adjusted profit before tax also increased at the airport, jumping from a £19m loss in the first nine months of 2023 to a £350m profit before tax over the last nine months.

The airport recorded adjusted earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £1.54bn, down 9.7 per cent on last year’s figure.

However, Heathrow’s revenue actually fell, dropping 3.2 per cent to £2.7bn, while adjusted operating profit fell 9.7 per cent to £1.5bn.

The company’s bottom line was boosted by a drop in finance costs.

For the nine months ended 30 September 2024, net finance costs before certain re-measurements decreased to £683m, from £1.2bn last year, driven by a significant decrease in the retail price index (RPI) annual growth rate from 11.3 per cent to 3.5 per cent, resulting in a lower inflation accretion expense.

Heathrow airport investment

The firm behind Heathrow said it intended to invest over £1bn into the airport this year and said that while no dividend was currently forecast for 2024, this was subject to financial performance.

“This summer has tested our colleagues, infrastructure and airlines to cooperate harder than ever before, with record numbers of passengers travelling through the busiest two runway airport in the world,” Heathrow boss Thomas Woldbye said.

“We have risen to this challenge, delivering excellent service with over 91 per cent of passengers waiting at security for less than 5 minutes.”

“Looking forwards, the Autumn Budget is a prime opportunity to set the aviation industry up for long term success. Backing British SAF through a revenue certainty mechanism and committing to joined up policy making that makes sense for aviation will supercharge Heathrow’s potential to deliver growth and investment for the whole of the country.”