Almost 250,000 passengers travelled through London Heathrow each day last month as Britons sought to escape the rain for sunnier climates.
Over 7.6 million people used Britain’s biggest airport in July, which is still slightly below pre-pandemic levels but a 21.4 per cent rise on the previous year and approximately 620,000 more than in June.
Last year’s figures were significantly affected by the travel hub imposing a departing passenger cap of 100,000 per day in response to staff struggling to cope with an unprecedented recovery in demand.
Passengers: Over 7.6 million people used Heathrow airport in July, not much below pre-pandemic levels but still a 21.4 per cent increase on the previous year
Last month, departures to Gibraltar, Portugal and Italy came close to record volumes while over 73,000 people travelled to Turkey, an increasingly common destination among consumers wanting affordable holidays.
The number of travellers going to and from European airports exceeded 3 million, many of them booking last-minute flights to avoid Britain’s unusually wet July weather.
New York was the most popular destination for Heathrow travellers, supported by the 31 daily flights between the two locations.
There was also a surge in tourists to Asia after a loosening of Covid-related curbs in the region, which has enabled International Airlines Group’s cargo arm and airlines like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to restart flights to cities like Shanghai and Beijing.
Heathrow’s outgoing chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: ‘It’s great to see so many passengers getting away to grab some summer sun.’
Holland-Kaye intends to step down in October after nine years in charge. He will be replaced by Thomas Woldbye, the CEO of Copenhagen Airport.
During his tenure, Heathrow has contended with a long-running battle to build a third runway and racked up billions in losses from the Covid-19 pandemic bringing flights to a virtual standstill in 2020.
THIS IS MONEY PODCAST
The airport has still not returned to profitability despite the significant rebound in overseas journeys, having recently reported a £139million adjusted pre-tax loss for the first six months of 2023.
It blamed the result on a ruling by the Civil Aviation Authority limiting the amount it can charge air carriers for every passenger they carry.
The regulator currently allows the airport to charge airlines an average maximum of £31.57 per customer, but this is set to fall to £25.43 in 2024 and ‘remain broadly flat’ in the following two years.
The CAA argues that the cap reflects the resurgence in travel and would lead to lower passenger costs.
But Heathrow is appealing to the Competition and Market Authority to overturn the decision, which it has said would undermine investment in the airport.
#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#004db3; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealFooter {display:block; float:left; width:100%; margin-top:5px; background-color:#e3e3e3 } #fiveDealsWidget .footerText {font-size:10px; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }
