Heathrow handles record passenger numbers
Heathrow has seen a 1.8% rise in passengers in the past three months to 16 million, a record for the first quarter.
Revenue was up 6.1% to £520 million, reflecting increased traffic and higher tariffs.
A slight increase in retail spend per passenger, up from £6.26 to £6.33, increased its net retail income to £16 million.
The airport’s pre-tax loss for the period to the end of March was reduced from £232 million to £196 million and the airport group said its debt was reduced by 7% to £10.6 billion due to the sale of Stansted.
CEO Colin Matthews said: "Heathrow performed strongly in the first quarter, with record passenger service scores and record financial performance. Strong cash flow is an important element in funding major current and future investment to improve Heathrow still further."
The Civil Aviation Authority is due to publish shortly its initial price cap proposals for the airport for the next five years.
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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