UK. London Heathrow Airport served almost 7.86 million passengers in July, a dip of -1.5% year-on-year. Middle East routes saw a decline of -20.2% on the same month last year against the backdrop of war in the region, with the key North American market down by -3%.
The largest regional market, the EU, posted a +1.1% increase year-on-year, with non-EU Europe up +3.7%.
Heathrow also posted its busiest day of the year on 19 July, with 267,000 passengers coming through its terminals as schools broke for summer.
Among the most popular destinations were Italy and Spain, while Switzerland, Cyprus and the Czech Republic posted healthy growth.
New food and retail options at Heathrow this summer include the recently opened Bill’s in Terminal 2, the first UK airport-based Slim Chickens in Terminal 3 and a Wagamama kiosk in Terminal 5. Families can also take advantage a ‘Kids Eat Free’ offer across a range of outlets.
The airport company noted that Heathrow is at capacity, with Istanbul Airport overtaking the UK gateway in July as the busiest hub in Europe.
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: “Summer is off to a flying start at Heathrow. Together with our airlines and Team Heathrow partners we’ve achieved our busiest day of the year so far and ensured millions of passengers have gotten away smoothly on their well-deserved holidays.
“Preparing for summer has been months in the planning, we understand how critical our role is in providing a seamless passenger experience and we’re committed to delivering throughout the summer peak. We want to go further, growing our route network and passenger offering. Expanding Heathrow will help ensure the UK remains home to Europe’s leading hub and continues to benefit from the trade, investment and tourism that increased connectivity will bring.” ✈
