Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide
  • Home
  • /
  • Aerospace
  • /
  • Heathrow passenger numbers fell 82% in March

Aerospace

Heathrow passenger numbers fell 82% in March

Heathrow has announced that passenger numbers at the airport fell by 82.6% (year-on-year) in March.

Image courtesy Heathrow

Heathrow’s cargo volumes are also down, by 25.7% on an annual basis. However, cargo
movements have increased by 21.4% compared with March 2020.

Traffic Summary

             
               
 

March 2021

         
               
 

Terminal Passengers
(000s)

 Mar
2021

%
Change

 Jan
  to
  Mar 2021

%
Change

 Apr 2020
  to
  Mar 2021

%
Change

 

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

 58

-72.1

 166

-81.9

 712

-84.9

 

EU

 140

-84.0

 45

-90.3

  3,915

-85.0

 

Non-EU Europe

  48

-78.1

 126

-88.3

  830

-84.8

 

Africa

  60

-68.2

  191

-75.7

 553

-83.8

 

North America

  52

-92.7

  181

-94.4

 826

-95.5

 

Latin America

  5

-93.9

   21

-93.2

 146

-89.1

 

Middle East

 66

-81.4

   255

-84.2

 1,100

-85.5

 

Asia / Pacific

 113

-75.9

   295

-86.3

 1,059

-90.2

 

Total

 542

-82.6

  1,680

-88.5

 9,142

-88.2

               
               
 

Air Transport Movements

 Mar
2021

%
Change

Jan to
Mar 2021

%
Change

Apr 2020 to
Mar 2021

%
Change

 

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

731

-67.3

 2,120

-76.0

8,465

-79.4

 

EU

2,037

-81.0

 6,135

-85.3

46,831

-76.8

 

Non-EU Europe

515

-78.8

 1,577

-83.5

8,956

-78.7

 

Africa

599

-37.0

 1,747

-50.2

5,697

-61.5

 

North America

2,342

-50.1

6,306

-63.9

23,524

-71.2

 

Latin America

96

-78.2

 320

-77.1

1,883

-68.0

 

Middle East

1,131

-38.0

 3,412

-50.8

13,113

-56.4

 

Asia / Pacific

1,964

-22.0

 5,165

-46.5

 20,073

-55.5

 

Total

 9,415

-63.4

 26,782

-72.9

 128,542

-72.2

               
               
 

Cargo
(Metric Tonnes)

 Mar
2021

%
Change

Jan to
Mar 2021

%
Change

Apr 2020 to
Mar 2021

%
Change

 

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

 10

  -79.7

 57

  -60.0

 158

-72.7

 

EU

 11,303

  88.4

 29,132

  54.8

 86,402

-4.2

 

Non-EU Europe

 5,663

  144.6

 16,906

  96.1

 54,341

6.0

 

Africa

 8,064

  31.7

 22,619

  12.2

 71,645

-20.0

 

North America

 42,788

  11.0

 103,782

  -19.5

 361,556

-33.0

 

Latin America

 1,359

  -64.2

 3,230

  -71.2

 25,784

-50.2

 

Middle East

 18,432

  4.1

52,830

  -8.5

 206,728

-19.3

 

Asia / Pacific

 34,854

  32.4

87,390

  0.4

 318,375

-26.9

 

Total

 122,474

  21.4

 315,945

  -5.0

1,124,989

-25.7

 

Advertisement
Gulfstream banner
HRH The Princess Royal tours MTL Advanced in Rotherham

Aerospace Defence Events

HRH The Princess Royal tours MTL Advanced in Rotherham

10 March 2026

HRH The Princess Royal visited Rotherham based MTL Advanced (part of WEC Group) on Friday 20th February to meet apprentices, engineers and senior leadership, gaining an insight into the company’s continued investment in skills development, innovation and regional growth and learning about its new Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC).

BGS extends fuelling partnership with Ryanair

Aerospace

BGS extends fuelling partnership with Ryanair

10 March 2026

Under renewed agreements, Baltic Ground Services (BGS) has extended its cooperation with Ryanair, to continue providing aircraft fuelling services for the airline at several airports across Northern and Central Europe.

IFS completes acquisition of Softeon

Aerospace Defence Security Space

IFS completes acquisition of Softeon

10 March 2026

IFS today announced the completion of its acquisition of Softeon, providing enterprises across manufacturing, logistics and retail, with access to a new category of supply chain technology.

Acron Aviation extends B737NG training with Arik Air to 2029

Aerospace

Acron Aviation extends B737NG training with Arik Air to 2029

10 March 2026

Acron Aviation has secured a multiyear contract extension with Arik Air, reinforcing a long-standing partnership and confirming Acron Aviation as Arik Air’s exclusive provider of B737NG Full Flight Simulator (FFS) training.

Advertisement
PTC rectangle
NPAS shares innovation insights at CAA Future of Flight Day

Aerospace Security Events

NPAS shares innovation insights at CAA Future of Flight Day

9 March 2026

At the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s Future of Flight Day, David Walters, Head of Futures and Innovation, National Police Air Service (NPAS), shared the latest progress in NPAS’s Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) development programme and showcased a recent multiagency search and rescue demonstration.

Aurrigo to build 25 AGVs for Ultra Global

Aerospace

Aurrigo to build 25 AGVs for Ultra Global

9 March 2026

Aurrigo International plc has signed the largest vehicle manufacturing order in its history to manufacture an initial 25-strong fleet of autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) for a leading rapid transit system specialist.

Advertisement
Security & Policing Rectangle
Advertisement
ECS leaderboard banner