Aerospace

Heathrow passenger numbers climb in October

Posted 14 November 2019

Over 6.9 million passengers travelled through Heathrow during the busiest October on record, as the airport saw 0.5% growth, driven by larger, fuller aircraft.

Courtesy Heathrow

The Middle East (+6.5%) and Africa (+5.9%) and East Asia (+4.9%) were the key markets for passenger growth last month. Virgin’s new route to Tel Aviv continued to boost the Middle East. East Asia also saw significant growth driven by British Airways’ new route to Kansai and increased load factors on other flights to Japan ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

More than 137,000 metric tonnes of cargo travelled through Heathrow in October, with cargo growth led by Ireland (6.8%) the Middle East (+4.2%) and Africa (+2.8).

In October, Heathrow released its Q3 results which announced that the airport remained on track for its ninth consecutive year of passenger growth.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “Heathrow continues to deliver for the economy but we are also making progress on tackling the biggest issue of our time – climate change – by decarbonising the global aviation sector.

"We are delighted that British Airways has become the first airline in the world to commit to net zero emissions by 2050 and that others are following their lead. The UK government has an opportunity to show real global leadership by making net zero aviation a focus for COP26 in Glasgow in 12 months’ time.”