Heathrow regains crown as Europe’s busiest airport

Heathrow regained its crown as Europe’s busiest airport this summer as passengers jetted off after pandemic travel restrictions ended.

Between July and September, it was used by more travellers than rivals in cities such as Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

This was a vast improvement on a year ago when Heathrow blamed the UK’s comparatively strict coronavirus travel rules for it being just the tenth busiest airport in Europe, after being number one in 2019.

Back on top: Between July and September, Heathrow was used by more travellers than rivals in cities such as Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam and Frankfurt

But despite regaining its crown, it warned of an uncertain outlook amid concerns about the global economy, a new wave of Covid infections and the war in Ukraine.

Nearly 5.8m passengers passed through last month, more than double the figure from last year when travel restrictions were still in place.

After its service levels dropped, it had to impose a limit of 100,000 departing passengers per day while also asking airlines to stop selling summer tickets, triggering a row with some carriers.

Heathrow expects the Christmas period to be ‘very busy’ and in the next year will focus on getting its capacity back to pre-pandemic levels.

It has already increased staff, while airlines have recruited more ground workers to cope with the rise in passengers.

‘Heathrow has grown more in the past 12 months than any airport in Europe and we’ve delivered a great passenger experience to the vast majority of travellers,’ said boss John Holland-Kaye.

Airlines are bracing for a challenging few months as soaring fuel prices eat into profit margins, and the cost of living squeeze hits demand.

Johan Lundgren, boss of Easyjet, this month said several airlines face a ‘very tricky situation’ this autumn and several could go under.

Travel turbulence

Financial volatility is worrying travel firms, an industry leader has warned.

Abta boss Mark Tanzer said businesses are being hit by rising bills as consumers suffer from the cost-of-living crisis.

At its annual convention in Morocco, Tanzer said: ‘Many have come out of the pandemic with less financial headroom, so increased borrowing at higher costs is not an option.’

He said a survey of 2,000 UK consumers suggested overseas travel for the year to August 31 was at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, adding: ‘We should continue to see an increase in foreign holidays next year.’

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