Heathrow Airport Heading For Busiest Year Ever

Last year, around 8.5 billion passengers passed through the world’s airports, 27.2% more than in 2022 and a 93.8% recovery compared to pre-pandemic 2019. London’s Heathrow Airport handled 79.2 million to rank fourth for total passengers in 2023, recovering to 97.9% from 2019 numbers.

A flying start to 2024 at LHR

Yesterday, Heathrow Airport released its passenger numbers for April, which showed that the airport handled 6.7 million passengers, a 4.8% increase compared to April 2023. In the first four months of this year 25.2 million passengers passed through Heathrow’s terminals, up by 8.2% year-on-year, while in the twelve months from May 2023 to April 2024 the airport handled 81.1 million, 15.5% more than the same period in 2022/23.

Photo: Heathrow Airport

In April, Heathrow welcomed a daily average of 224,000 passengers, while on Friday, April 19, it recorded its busiest day since October 2019 with 1,337 flights. The airport handled 39,517 aircraft movements for the month and 151,923 between January and April, up by 5.1% and 7.5%, respectively, year-on-year.

Related

Connecting Between London Heathrow Airport’s Terminals: A Brief Guide

Heathrow provides airside connections, landside you need to use public transport.

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said it takes an extraordinary team to deliver such a strong performance and expressed his pride in what everyone across the airport has achieved in 2024. However, he is not so happy with the UK government’s approach to aviation, adding:

“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.”

Those comments refer to initiatives including the introduction of visas for transiting passengers, the absence of tax-free shopping and a recently proposed hike in business rates, which the airport said is curtailing the UK’s global connectivity. The airport said that a supportive policy environment for aviation would deliver a much-needed economic boost by encouraging people to visit, spend and do business in the UK.

Related

When Did Each Of London Heathrow Airport’s Terminals Open?

The UK’s busiest airport used to have five operational terminals.

Forecast to reach 82.4 million pax this year

Of the 39,517 aircraft movements in April, 44% of those were from the EU, 20% from North America, 9% from Asia-Pacific, 8% from the UK and from non-EU Europe, 6% from the Middle East, 3% from Africa and 2% from Latin America. The fastest growing markets compared to April 2023 were the UK (28.0%), followed by Asia-Pacific (9.5%), the EU (4.7%), Latin America (4.5%), Non-EU Europe (4.4%) and the Middle East (3.0%). Africa fell by 5.7%, and North America was steady with a minute loss of 0.1%.

Photo: Gordon Bell | Shutterstock

Last month, East Asian and Middle Eastern routes produced double-digit percentage increases in passenger numbers, while a surge in passengers to Delhi and Mumbai made them the 6th and 8th most popular destinations this year, with New York, Dubai and Doha holding the top three spots, respectively.

Heathrow forecasts this summer will be the busiest on record and said it has a robust operating plan in place to make that happen smoothly, even if industrial action occurs at the airport. In light of the high levels of demand recorded so far this year, Heathrow has increased its annual passenger forecast for 2024 to 82.4 million passengers.

Have you been through Heathrow Airport this year? Let us know about your experience in the comments.