 |
UK. Passenger traffic grew +3.8% year-on-year at London Heathrow Airport in January, with demand on long-haul routes to emerging markets driving growth. Total passenger numbers reached 5.4 million during the month.
Traffic to BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) was up +5%, with China and Brazil up +26% and +6.8% respectively. Meanwhile, MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) passenger numbers were up +5.8%, with Mexico seeing the largest increase, up +26.8% on the previous year.
 |
 |
Seats per aircraft increased +1.4%, whilst load factors increased by 0.6 percentage points on last year, to 70.6%. Passenger numbers per aircraft were up +2.2%, to 144.5.
Heathrow CEO Colin Matthews said: “January’s traffic figures reflect a strong start to the year and the increasing demand for long-haul routes to emerging market destinations, such as Chengdu and Mexico City, that only a hub airport can support.”
 |
Business centre plans
Heathrow Airport today announced plans to develop the first independent business centre at the hub, in partnership with global workspace provider Regus.
A branch of Regus Express is set to open at Terminal 5 this summer, responding to the growing demand for “˜third place’ work locations where business travellers can check their emails, hold conference calls and meetings and print documents.
Regus Express will offer a quiet, professional business lounge with a co-working space and private workstations, to be known as “˜ThinkPods’. There will also be secure WiFi, as well as meeting rooms available by the hour.
Heathrow Property Director Stephen Wilkinson said: “More business passengers pass through Heathrow than any other airport in the world, making the opening of this centre at Terminal 5 an innovative solution for our customers.”
