Heathrow taps transatlantic demand in busy February
Heathrow Airport said it had benefitted from a surge in transatlantic traffic as it served more than 5.7m passengers in February.
The Hounslow hub said flights to and from the USA and Canada increased seven per cent year-on-year when adjusting for leap years.
Its February total was also a record for the airport by that metric and marked the twelfth month in a row that average daily passengers exceeded 200,000.
“Even during a traditionally quiet month for aviation in February, we saw sustained and growing demand to fly and export through Heathrow,” chief executive Thomas Woldbye said in a statement.
“As the UK’s gateway to growth, we must meet this increase in demand and do it without compromising our strategy to decarbonise and reduce noise impacts.
He added: “While we welcome the progress that’s been achieved alongside our partners, there’s no complacency – reaching net zero as we grow remains vital.”
Heathrow said there had been a “spike in interest” from winter sunseekers to routes including the Caribbean, Italy and Greece.
In a strong showing for business travel, flights to Dubai, Mumbai, Delhi and Riyadh also consistently took off with the fewest empty seats.
Another record month at the UK’s biggest airport comes after it brought back dividend pay-outs for the first time since the pandemic amid soaring profits.
It also falls ahead of a highly-anticipated submission to the UK planning inspectorate for its long-delayed third runway plans, which is expected to come this summer.
Traffic to and from Latin America also saw a notable 8.4 per cent increase to 191,000 over the month, Heathrow said.
Routes to and from the UK, however, dipped 6.7 per cent to 335,000.