Heathrow on track for busiest ever year
Image courtesy Heathrow
Heathrow welcomed 6.7 million passengers in April, bringing the total for the year so far up to 25.2 million.
Last month, airport teams welcomed a daily average of 224,000 passengers, while Friday 19 April saw the airfield’s busiest day since October 2019 with 1,337 flights.
East Asian and Middle Eastern routes have seen double-digit percentage increases in passengers. A surge in passengers to Delhi and Mumbai has made these the 6th and 8th most popular destinations so far this year with New York, Dubai and Doha taking the top three spots, respectively.
Terminal 2 welcomed its millionth flight on Saturday 27th April with IcelandAir FI454 from Keflavik International Airport landing at 19.49pm. The milestone comes as passengers and colleagues prepare to celebrate the terminal’s 10th anniversary this summer.
In April, Heathrow was named the fourth busiest airport in the world for 2023 by the ACI and remains on-track to welcome more passengers than ever before in 2024.
However, despite its positive outlook for growth, Heathrow highlighted current Government policy as curtailing the UK’s global connectivity. Initiatives like the introduction of unnecessary visas for transiting passengers, the absence of tax-free shopping and the recently proposed hike in business rates, underscore the need for Ministers to take a cross-Government approach to policymaking that supports UK aviation’s global competitiveness.
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: “It takes an extraordinary team to deliver this strong performance and I’m proud of what everyone across the airport has achieved so far this year.
"As we continue to grow, our focus is on making Heathrow fit for the future, delivering reliable journeys for all our customers today and getting ready for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. But to unlock our full potential to help grow the country's economy, we need the Government to implement policies that support UK aviation’s ability to compete globally and thus make the UK more competitive overall."
