Business and traffic commentary Aug 2024

Heathrow

11 September 2024

 

Heathrow delivers record-breaking summer getaway for millions

·      In August, Heathrow welcomed almost 8m passengers in its fourth consecutive record-breaking month this summer, meaning the airport served 82.6m passengers in the last 12 months and is on-track to welcome 30m passengers between June and September - a first ever for the UK's hub

·      History was made at Heathrow on Sunday 18th August when 269k passengers passed through the airport on its busiest day ever, with last month also seeing a record 13 days with over 260k passengers and its busiest week ever (13 - 19 August) with 1.8m passengers

·      Heathrow surpassed 1 million tonnes of cargo processed so far this year on Sunday 25th August, a milestone reached a month earlier than in 2023, reinforcing the airport's position as the UK's hub for international trade

·      Departing passengers remained consistently over 130k daily for most of August, with Spain, Greece, Italy and Turkey proving popular summer break destinations for thousands of sunseekers last month

·      Heathrow's preparation for record-breaking passenger numbers was reflected in high service levels being maintained throughout the summer, with hundreds of 'Heathrow Helpers' and specialist resilience teams deployed to ensure millions had smooth journeys

·      Taylor Swift concerts brought in an additional 40k passengers this summer, with thousands of Swifties passing through Heathrow for the European leg of her Eras Tour

·      Holiday goers enjoyed perusing Heathrow's huge selection of 275 shops and 75 restaurants, with passengers fuelling up for their journeys on a staggering 950,749 Pret coffees sold across all terminals in July and August

·      Los Angeles (LAX) and Madrid (MAD) are the two latest joiners to the "millionaire club" - routes with over a million passengers - joining Doha (DOH), Dublin (DUB), Dubai (DXB) and New York (JFK)

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: 

"I'm grateful to Team Heathrow for their preparation and dedication to delivering an extraordinary getaway for more passengers than ever before, maintaining strong service levels during what has been our busiest summer. For the past four months we have broken several new records, demonstrating our ability to open a world of opportunity for more people, cargo, business and the UK economy."

August 2024
Terminal Passengers (000s)	Aug 2024	% Change	Jan to Aug 2024	% Change	Sep 2023 to Aug 2024	% Change
Market
UK	405	12.3	3,081	10.8	4,543	13.1
EU	2,793	10.6	18,722	8.1	27,564	9.7
Non-EU Europe	524	6.1	3,819	8.1	5,616	9.9
Africa	282	-8.6	2,209	-7.9	3,408	-2.1
North America	2,006	2.0	13,721	3.3	20,405	6.7
Latin America	180	2.6	1,441	4.3	2,125	5.9
Middle East	811	2.4	5,625	7.4	8,406	7.8
Asia / Pacific	968	4.2	7,165	12.6	10,578	20.1
Total	7,970	5.5	55,783	6.7	82,645	9.5
Air Transport Movements	Aug 2024	% Change	Jan to Aug 2024	% Change	Sep 2023 to Aug 2024	% Change
Market
UK	3,085	15.0	24,152	14.5	35,422	15.3
EU	18,550	7.6	137,683	6.8	204,131	8.0
Non-EU Europe	3,452	3.9	28,070	7.1	41,739	8.6
Africa	1,179	-3.5	9,900	-4.0	15,120	0.4
North America	8,174	-1.9	60,998	1.0	91,783	5.1
Latin America	714	-1.5	6,029	2.9	8,929	5.1
Middle East	2,719	2.4	20,412	2.5	30,340	4.6
Asia / Pacific	3,700	-0.5	28,813	8.4	43,366	14.8
Total	41,573	4.2	316,057	5.6	470,830	8.0

Cargo (Metric Tonnes)	Aug 2024	% Change	Jan to Aug 2024	% Change	Sep 2023 to Aug 2024	% Change
Market
UK	32	-2.3	376	-2.2	589	20.8
EU	5,936	-18.5	58,177	-5.1	92,960	-1.7
Non-EU Europe	3,578	9.3	26,791	-0.0	40,986	-1.0
Africa	8,092	30.6	60,500	21.1	89,169	20.0
North America	55,276	19.5	398,406	15.8	599,022	12.5
Latin America	4,767	12.6	36,015	9.6	53,956	9.4
Middle East	21,691	0.0	175,760	5.8	271,244	9.2
Asia / Pacific	33,954	7.7	270,255	22.6	406,811	23.6
Total	133,327	10.7	1,026,281	13.8	1,554,737	13.5

 

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