Business and traffic commentary April 2024

Heathrow

13 May 2024

 

Strong April performance keeps Heathrow  

on-track for busiest year ever 

§ Heathrow welcomed 6.7 million passengers in April, bringing the total for the year so far up to 25.2 million. 

§ Last month, airport teams welcomed a daily average of 224,000 passengers, while Friday 19 April saw the airfield's busiest day since October 2019 with 1,337 flights.

§ East Asian and Middle Eastern routes have seen double-digit percentage increases in passengers. A surge in passengers to Delhi and Mumbai has made these the 6^th and 8^th most popular destinations so far this year with New York, Dubai and Doha taking the top three spots, respectively. 

§ Terminal 2 welcomed its millionth flight on Saturday 27 April with IcelandAir FI454 from Keflavik International Airport landing at 19.49pm. The milestone comes as passengers and colleagues prepare to celebrate the terminal's 10^th anniversary this summer. 

§ In April, Heathrow was named the 4^th busiest airport in the world for 2023 by the ACI and remains on-track to welcome more passengers than ever before in 2024.

§ However, despite our positive outlook for growth, current Government policy is curtailing the UK's global connectivity.

§ Initiatives like the introduction of unnecessary visas for transiting passengers, the absence of tax-free shopping and the recently proposed hike in business rates, underscore the need for Ministers to take a cross-Government approach to policymaking that supports UK aviation's global competitiveness.

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said:

"It takes an extraordinary team to deliver this strong performance and I'm proud of what everyone across the airport has achieved so far this year. As we continue to grow, our focus is on making Heathrow fit for the future, delivering reliable journeys for all our customers today and getting ready for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. But to unlock our full potential to help grow the country's economy, we need the Government to implement policies that support UK aviation's ability to compete globally, and thus make the UK more competitive overall."

April 2024
Terminal Passengers (000s)	Apr 2024	% Change	Jan to Apr 2024	% Change	May 2023 to Apr 2024	% Change
Market
UK	380	16.4	1,492	11.3	4,395	17.7
EU	2,301	4.1	8,113	7.4	26,720	11.5
Non-EU Europe	450	7.0	1,833	9.5	5,487	13.4
Africa	259	-11.2	1,144	-5.4	3,534	9.5
North America	1,662	-1.1	5,731	5.5	20,258	14.5
Latin America	176	6.4	737	5.3	2,102	10.4
Middle East	659	10.0	2,704	9.1	8,243	9.3
Asia / Pacific	818	16.1	3,468	19.0	10,331	42.1
Total	6,705	4.8	25,224	8.2	81,070	15.5
Air Transport Movements	Apr 2024	% Change	Jan to Apr 2024	% Change	May 2023 to Apr 2024	% Change
Market
UK	3,043	28.0	11,924	15.0	33,920	15.9
EU	17,165	4.7	64,804	8.0	200,153	9.4
Non-EU Europe	3,292	4.4	14,512	10.2	41,231	12.2
Africa	1,203	-5.7	5,224	-2.6	15,397	6.6
North America	7,767	-0.1	28,145	2.3	91,835	10.1
Latin America	768	4.5	3,170	5.6	8,926	10.2
Middle East	2,483	3.0	9,781	2.3	30,061	8.5
Asia / Pacific	3,436	9.5	14,363	15.9	43,105	30.6
Total	39,157	5.1	151,923	7.5	464,628	11.8
Cargo (Metric Tonnes)	Apr 2024	% Change	Jan to Apr 2024	% Change	May 2023 to Apr 2024	% Change
Market
UK	9	-58.7	217	12.5	622	42.9
EU	6,718	-11.0	33,077	8.3	98,653	0.7
Non-EU Europe	2,512	-3.2	14,073	13.5	42,665	6.6
Africa	6,828	1.2	30,216	21.1	83,873	11.8
North America	47,865	15.4	193,479	10.1	562,471	3.8
Latin America	4,366	4.2	17,432	11.6	52,618	12.5
Middle East	19,217	-3.9	90,173	15.5	273,766	12.2
Asia / Pacific	31,841	26.1	134,615	37.2	393,552	25.7
Total	119,357	10.7	513,281	17.8	1,508,221	11.0

 

END