- Over 7.2m people came through the travel hub, a 3.7% rise on October 2023
- The EU region saw the strongest growth in absolute numbers at Heathrow
London Heathrow Airport enjoyed its busiest ever October as Britons took advantage of the half-term break to go abroad.
Over 7.2 million people came through the travel hub last month; the sixth successive month it has attracted more than 7 million passengers and a 3.7 per cent rise on October 2023.
The European Union saw the strongest growth in absolute numbers at Heathrow of any region, with a 190,000 year-on-year increase to 2.5 million.
Going somewhere: London Heathrow Airport enjoyed its busiest ever October, with over 7.2 million people coming through the travel hub last month
But UK travel experienced the biggest expansion in percentage terms, seeing an 8.9 per cent rise to 393,000.
Heathrow anticipates serving about 83.8 million people in 2024, which would be 2.9 million up on the record 80.9 million in 2019, the last calendar year before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Air travel demand plummeted in 2020 amid stringent cross-border restrictions, then began rebounding the following year as those curbs loosened, although strikes and a prolonged slump in business travel hurt its recovery.
Thomas Woldbye, chief executive of Heathrow, said: ‘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.’
A fortnight ago, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced tax rises on airline tickets in her first Budget as part of measures to cut the deficit.
From 2026/27, air passenger duty for short-haul economy flights is set to go from £13 to £15, while private jet users will receive a 50 per cent bump in the duty they pay.
Trade associations representing Britain’s airports and airlines heavily criticised the move, saying it would make the UK less competitive and hinder growth.
Karen Dee, CEO of AirportsUK, said the APD hike was ‘disappointing’ because airports are undertaking massive investments while ‘facing increasing burdens in other areas’.
Heathrow intends to invest more than £1billion this year, including on resurfacing runways, new security lanes, and modern equipment for assistance services.
However, Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the upcoming changes to APD may not hurt the level of airline travel that much.
Streeter called Heathrow’s performance in October a ‘demonstration of how post-pandemic demand for travel shows little sign of waning’.
She added: ‘Given this sustained demand, it looks unlikely that the Government’s increase in Air Passenger Duty is going to have a hugely detrimental effect on demand on hubs like Heathrow.’
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