London Heathrow Airport set for busiest year ever after record October
London Heathrow airport is set to surpass its pre-pandemic passenger record after its busiest October ever saw seven million travellers use the airport.
More than 7.2m passengers flew through Heathrow in October as the half term peak helped the airport to its sixth consecutive month of more than seven million passengers.
“This year has been all about breaking records at Heathrow,” chief executive Thomas Woldbye said.
After the busier-than-expected summer and early Autumn period, the airport raised its forecast for the full year.
It now expects to close out 2024 having served 83.8m passengers, an increase of 2.9m on 2019’s previous annual record of 80.9m. The rise is the equivalent of welcoming 7,300 extra passengers every day.
Fears that booming travel demand in the post-Covid era would taper off this year have failed to materialise in recent months.
Europe’s major airlines have similarly reported consistently strong demand for flights.
Shares in Ryanair, Europe’s biggest carrier, soared in August after passenger numbers surpassed 20m in a single month.
“To keep up with growing demand and progress towards our vision of an extraordinary airport fit for the future we are investing more than £1bn in 2024 alone,” Woldbye added.
Woldbye also called on the Government to recognise the UK’s air industry in its business strategy: “Being home to the world’s most connected airport is a huge boost for the UK economy thanks to Heathrow’s unrivalled links for passengers and cargo. To maintain that competitive edge, the Government needs to recognise aviation’s vital role in enabling and supporting other sectors in its Industrial Strategy.”
Heathrow was crowned the UK’s most connected airport in September for the second year running, with the airport connecting travellers to 234 destinations across 85 nations across the globe.
The runner up, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, has only served just over half of London Heathrow’s connections, handling 33,000 compared to 61,000.