Heathrow growth in August driven by long-haul flights
August was the second busiest month in Heathrow’s history when it handled more than 7.5 million passengers, 2.6% more than in the same month last year.
The last day of the month was the airport’s busiest ever for arrivals, when 137,303 passengers flew into the airport.
There was a 6.3% increase in the number of passengers flying to and from Asia, a rise which the airport attributed to new services from Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Beijing Capital Airlines. The number of flights to Asia overall was up by 5.8%.
There was also 4.7% more traffic to and from the US during the month following a 3% rise in the number of flights. There were almost 8% more flights to Latin America too.
However, domestic traffic was down 3.3% following a 7.5% drop in UK flights. There was also a 1.6% fall in flights to the EU and a 3.6% drop in flights to European destinations outside the EU, although EU traffic was up 1.5%. Non-EU traffic was down 1.3%.
Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: "August has been another stellar month for Heathrow with passenger numbers and freight volumes continuing to reach unprecedented heights. It’s brilliant to see consumers and cargo making their way through the UK’s largest port to these new Chinese destinations. With expansion we’ll be able to connect more points of the UK to global growth and we’re looking forward to working with the Heathrow Skills Taskforce to evaluate how we can best maximise the job opportunities that Britain’s new runway will bring."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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