Heathrow Airport passenger numbers soar as British travellers flee moist climate

Heathrow has stated passenger numbers are nearly again to pre-pandemic ranges after an additional 1.3 million flyers used the airport in July.

The moist climate throughout the UK this summer time helped enhance flight gross sales, with sunny places proving well-liked, a spokesperson stated.

More than 7.6 million passengers travelled via the London airport final month – up a fifth on the 6.3 million who did so in July 2022, based on its newest figures.

That included 73,000 departures to Turkey – the busiest month ever recorded for the vacation spot, the airport stated.

The numbers of passengers flying to Gibraltar, Portugal and Italy had been additionally near document ranges.

The complete is just under the 7.8 million flyers who travelled via the airport in July 2019 earlier than COVID led to lockdowns all over the world within the spring of 2020.

The year-on-year improve was additionally pushed by flights to and from Asia – which had been up 129% – after international locations together with China lifted the final of their pandemic-era journey restrictions.

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Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye stated: “It’s nice to see so many passengers getting away to seize some summer time solar.

“We’ve got a great range of popular destinations and our teams are delivering excellent service which will ensure your travels get off to the best start.”

The airport additionally stated safety queues had been “consistently under five minutes”.

The figures additional revealed that passenger numbers to North American locations elevated by 77%, with New York remaining the airport’s hottest vacation spot.

Airlines have additionally reported an increase in ticket sales this yr because the journey business continues to get better from the influence of the pandemic.