UK. London Heathrow Airport today reported full-year passenger traffic results for 2020, with volumes falling by -72.7% year-on-year to 22.1 million. The year ended with 1.1 million passengers travelling through Heathrow in December, down -82.9% compared to the same time a year earlier, as a new strain of COVID-19 took its toll on air travel.
After calling for pre-departure COVID-19 testing since April, Heathrow acknowledged the government’s decision to soon require all international arrivals to provide proof of a negative test, taken up to 72 hours prior to departure, before travelling to England and Scotland.
It also noted that December was the “last month of tax-free shopping in Britain”. In recent months Heathrow has consistently urged the government to abandon plans to abolish tax free shopping for international visitors from 1 January, saying the “disastrous tourist tax” will hurt UK competitiveness.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “The past year has been incredibly challenging for aviation. While we support tightening border controls temporarily by introducing pre-departure testing for international arrivals, as well as quarantine, this is not sustainable. The aviation industry is the cornerstone of the UK economy but is fighting for survival.
“We need a road map out of this lockdown, and a full waiver of business rates. This is an opportunity for the government to show leadership in creating a Common International Standard for pre-departure testing that will allow travel and trade to restart safely so that we can start to deliver the Prime Minister’s vision of a Global Britain.”
