Business and traffic commentary Aug 2023

Heathrow

11 September 2023

 

Heathrow delivers a super summer getaway for millions

§ 7.5m passengers travelled through Heathrow in August, as we became the London airport of choice for passengers wanting a smooth journey this summer

§ Passengers checked in more bags than ever before, and our baggage support team went the extra mile to help airline handlers get bags away on time

§ Passenger satisfaction was higher than pre-pandemic, reflecting the investment the airport, airlines and their ground handlers have made in recruiting and training over 25,000 new colleagues in the last two years. This extra resilience meant that while flights at Heathrow were impacted by the UK-wide air traffic restrictions in August, operations quickly returned to normal

§ Security wait times averaged only 1.5 minutes in August. Passengers used the extra time in the airport to stock up on food as Pret A Manger sold nearly 1m sandwiches this summer. Others indulged in retail therapy to get 'beach ready', with a pair of sunglasses sold every two minutes

§ Passengers and the UK's supply chain have a growing list of destinations to choose from. With travel restrictions lifted, Heathrow now has more flights to more destinations in China than any other European hub. LATAM has confirmed the UK's only direct service to Peru will take off from Heathrow on 1 December

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:

"I am very proud of the way colleagues across Team Heathrow made sure that passengers had a super start to their summer holidays, with record levels of passenger satisfaction and average security queue times of less than two minutes - Heathrow is back to its best."

Note to editors: All percentages indicate change against same period 12 months previous. Next month's passenger traffic is expected to exceed pre-covid levels in a year-to-year monthly comparison. This is a result of industrial action in 2019 which dampened demand. Annual figures will remain below pre-pandemic levels.

	Traffic Summary
	August 2023
	Terminal Passengers (000s)	Aug 2023	% Change	Jan to Aug 2023	% Change	Sep 2022 to Aug 2023	% Change
	Market
	UK	361	45.9	2,781	31.2	4,017	31.5
	EU	2,526	19.2	17,318	28.4	25,129	40.6
	Non-EU Europe	494	22.2	3,532	23.1	5,109	35.1
	Africa	309	20.1	2,400	33.5	3,482	50.6
	North America	1,967	23.3	13,277	38.9	19,117	61.5
	Latin America	176	18.3	1,381	25.7	2,006	47.0
	Middle East	792	9.4	5,236	19.4	7,795	31.7
	Asia / Pacific	929	71.0	6,365	105.0	8,809	115.7
	Total	7,554	25.1	52,289	36.1	75,465	50.3
	Air Transport Movements	Aug 2023	% Change	Jan to Aug 2023	% Change	Sep 2022 to Aug 2023	% Change
	Market
	UK	2,683	37.7	21,097	20.6	30,725	20.0
	EU	17,246	12.0	128,911	21.6	188,952	29.2
	Non-EU Europe	3,324	16.8	26,215	21.3	38,421	29.7
	Africa	1,222	14.5	10,317	16.8	15,054	25.5
	North America	8,332	17.7	60,416	27.9	87,367	38.8
	Latin America	725	18.7	5,857	18.5	8,497	27.7
	Middle East	2,656	9.1	19,916	20.9	29,008	21.9
	Asia / Pacific	3,717	46.9	26,585	49.9	37,763	40.4
	Total	39,905	17.6	299,314	24.5	435,787	30.6
	Cargo (Metric Tonnes)	Aug 2023	% Change	Jan to Aug 2023	% Change	Sep 2022 to Aug 2023	% Change
	Market
	UK	32	467.7	385	26.4	488	12.2
	EU	7,283	-3.9	61,328	-16.4	94,592	-18.5
	Non-EU Europe	3,273	7.7	26,796	-2.1	41,384	-21.3
	Africa	6,197	4.7	49,945	-11.3	74,336	-10.6
	North America	46,266	11.5	344,109	-6.6	532,437	-4.0
	Latin America	4,233	18.3	32,861	21.2	49,302	32.2
	Middle East	21,689	-0.2	166,194	6.3	248,344	3.5
	Asia / Pacific	31,514	33.7	220,497	-1.1	329,252	-13.1
	Total	120,488	12.7	902,115	-3.2	1,370,135	-6.3

 

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