UK. London Heathrow Airport handled almost 75 million passengers in 2015, a rise of +2.2% on 2014 and a new annual record.
Emerging markets continued to be a driver of traffic growth at Heathrow, with passenger volumes up +14% to China, +8.3% to Latin America and +5.8% to the Middle East in the year.
European traffic climbed by +3.9% year-on-year, North American traffic was up by +1.7% and Asia Pacific volumes grew marginally (+0.3%). Traffic to and from Africa fell by -2.7% compared to a year earlier.
Larger aircraft contributed to the increase in annual passenger volumes, with seats per aircraft increasing +2.1% to 209, load factors remaining constant at 76.5% and passengers per aircraft rising to +1.9% to 160. At the end of 2015, over 20 daily A380 departures and arrivals were operated by eight airlines.
December 2015 passenger volumes remained consistent with 2014 at 5.9 million passengers. In the month, passenger volumes climbed by +16% to Mexico, +6% to the Middle East and +5% to China.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “2015 has been a banner year for Heathrow, serving more passengers than ever and being recognised in a number of awards as the best major airport in Europe for both passenger service and eco-innovation. The record levels of passenger satisfaction are due to a significant increase in training, apprenticeships and the number of front line colleagues moving into management roles.
“Our new expansion plan will make Heathrow the most sustainable hub airport, and Britain the best connected country in the world.”
 |
 |
