Heathrow: Passenger numbers soar as boss hails ‘busiest summer’

Heathrow Airport has reported a fourth consecutive month of record-breaking passenger traffic in what has proved one of the UK’s busiest ever summers for travel demand.

Some 8m travellers passed through in August, up 5.5 per cent year-on-year and bringing the West London hub’s rolling 12 month total to 82.6m.

Heathrow said it was “on track” to welcome 30m passengers during the peak summer months between June and September, another record-breaking figure.

Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: “I’m grateful to team Heathrow for their preparation and dedication to delivering an extraordinary getaway for more passengers than ever before, maintaining strong service levels during what has been our busiest summer.

“For the past four months we have broken several new records, demonstrating our ability to open a world of opportunity for more people, cargo, business and the UK economy.”

Such soaring demand brought Los Angeles and Madrid’s hub airports into Heathrow’s “millionaires club”, joining Doha, Dublin, Dubai and New York as routes which serve over a million passengers.

Airports across the UK have filled their coffers this year as Brits continue to flock abroad, despite concerns that a two-year post-pandemic rebound in travel demand could draw to a close in 2024.

Manchester Airports Group surge mirrors Heathrow boost

The UK’s largest airport conglomerate, Manchester Airports Group (MAG), on Wednesday said both Manchester Airport and London Stansted had marked their busiest ever months in August.

Almost 7m passengers travelled through MAG’s subsidiaries over the period, 6.6 per cent higher year-on-year.

Heathrow’s total comes despite stinging criticism of a new £10 charge introduced by the Home Office for visa-exempt passengers and also required by those onboard connecting flights.

The government announced on Tuesday the so-called electronic travel authorisation (ETA) would be rolled out to travellers from most countries later this year, having initially been required by those from several Middle Eastern countries.

Heathrow, which benefits from a considerable number of connecting flights, has said the scheme has already cost it around 90,000 passengers since it first launched in 2023.