Heathrow’s passenger traffic rockets after end of restrictions
October’s passenger traffic at Heathrow airport has gone up 144 per cent compared with the same time last year, following the easing of restrictions.
Data from the London hub has revealed that last month more than 3 million passenger passed through the airport, delivering the sixth consecutive month of growth. The relaxation of travel rules before half-term led to daily passenger numbers going up to almost 100,000 a day.
Despite positive signals Heathrow’s recovery is far from over, as passenger levels remain 56 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels. To accelerate its green recovery, the airport is calling on the UK Government to introduce a price stability mechanism that will foster investment in the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs).
“As the journey to recovery accelerates, aviation’s ambitions to decarbonise must keep pace,” said Heathrow’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye. “We need to keep our foot to the pedal, working to make air travel guilt-free and the government must act with a mandate for 10 per cent SAF by 2030 and a price stability mechanism to upscale SAF usage, if we are to tackle the industry’s biggest challenge – carbon.”
Earlier this week, British Airways powered its first flight from London to the US, with a 35 per cent SAF blend – the highest percentage ever used on a commercial flight.