2024 proved to be a record year for London-Heathrow Airport (LHR), the UK’s busiest air travel gateway. The airport, situated to the west of the English capital city, handled 83.9 million passengers during the twelve months ending December 31, 2024. This figure marks a new annual record for Heathrow and represents a 5.9% increase over the number handled in 2023. The airport also set a new record for the amount of cargo handled during the year, with a 10% annual rise year-on-year.

With demand for travel from the airport continuing to rise, the airport’s operator Heathrow Airport Limited is expecting further growth during 2025, although has already stated that growth is unlikely to match that seen in 2024, as traffic growth is being stifled by capacity limits both in terms of terminal space as well as take-off and landing slots.

In terms of finances, the airport saw revenues drop by 4% despite the higher passenger numbers. Heathrow’s total revenue declined to £3.6 billion ($4.57bn) with the adjusted EBITDA figure (which takes into account certain permitted deductions) also down to £2.0 billion ($2.54bn) as a result of lower airport charges being set by the UK’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority. For 2024, Heathrow posted a pretax profit of £917 million ($1.16bn), up 31% over 2023.

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