Heathrow toasted its busiest Christmas since 2019 as travellers returned to the skies to get home for the holiday.
The London airport saw a 90 per cent spike in passengers compared to 2021 levels, with 5.9m people passing through in December.
Transatlantic travel was a key driver, with New York’s JFK airport the busiest route.
Recovery: Heathrow London airport saw a 90% spike in passengers compared to 2021 levels, with 5.9m people passing through in December
Britain’s biggest airport said travellers reported a ‘friendly and efficient journey through immigration’ as armed forces and volunteer civil servants stepped up during an eight-day strike by Border Force officers.
It said 92 per cent of passengers passed through security in under 10 minutes during the Christmas peak.
The airport said 61.6m passengers flew during 2022, up 42.2m on the year before.
But it warned it could be set back by the reintroduction of testing for travellers in the UK and beyond following Covid spikes in China.