Heathrow gears up for holiday season as UK’s hub climbs to world’s 4th busiest airport

Heathrow gears up for holiday season as UK’s hub climbs to world’s 4th busiest airport​

· A busy October with nearly 7 million passengers has helped to prepare us for the peak season of festive travel ahead, with the strong demand to fly from Heathrow propelling the UK’s hub airport to the 4th largest globally

· 2.2 million passengers passed through our terminals during the October half-term, with Dubai, New York and Los Angeles proving popular this year. Team Heathrow colleagues provided great service, keeping the airport moving, despite weeks of heavy rain and two named storms

· After reopening its borders, Hong Kong became our 12th “millionaire route” for the year, surpassing 1 million passengers and following in the footsteps of Doha, JFK and Delhi among others

· Sun-seekers looking to book a winter getaway have even more choice this year with 11 new airline routes just starting at Heathrow, including the UK’s only direct connection to Peru and more flights to ski destinations globally than any other UK airport, with the airport now serving 239 destinations in 89 countries

· Heathrow has begun preparations for the upcoming holiday peaks and will be launching a range of retail offerings in the coming weeks, including opportunities to win Christmas vouchers for retailers such as Watches for Switzerland, inMotion, Rituals and World Duty Free, alongside our Christmas ad campaign which depicts festive travel stories highlighting the significance of travelling to see loved ones during the holidays

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said:
“I’ve learned a lot about Heathrow in my first few weeks, but one thing that really stands out to me is the passion and drive of colleagues to get people away smoothly on their journeys. We look forward to welcoming passengers from across the world over the upcoming festive season with a friendly face to lend a helping hand. If your journey sees you travelling through Heathrow we’ve got you covered, from attractive shops to meet your gifting needs to restaurants for all the family, we will ensure a seamless start to your holiday plans.” 

Traffic Summary
October 2023
Terminal Passengers (000s)	Oct 2023	% Change	Jan to Oct 2023	% Change	Nov 2022 to Oct 2023	% Change
Market
UK	361	21.1	3,500	30.8	4,181	32.3
EU	2,316	14.7	22,053	25.3	25,759	32.3
Non-EU Europe	458	13.2	4,435	21.7	5,238	27.8
Africa	311	20.6	3,009	30.8	3,587	37.0
North America	1,812	17.7	16,910	34.1	19,700	40.1
Latin America	168	10.2	1,714	23.1	2,045	30.5
Middle East	683	3.9	6,606	16.7	7,891	20.5
Asia / Pacific	851	51.0	8,098	91.9	9,426	97.5
Total	6,960	18.1	66,325	32.4	77,826	38.3
Air Transport Movements	Oct 2023	% Change	Jan to Oct 2023	% Change	Nov 2022 to Oct 2023	% Change
Market
UK	2,825	23.0	26,579	22.3	31,980	22.6
EU	17,321	10.8	163,287	19.3	192,503	23.2
Non-EU Europe	3,448	16.8	32,902	20.4	39,384	24.5
Africa	1,329	18.3	12,868	17.2	15,456	20.7
North America	8,390	18.5	76,943	25.7	89,930	28.7
Latin America	715	14.0	7,258	17.7	8,675	21.0
Middle East	2,471	9.1	24,934	18.9	29,522	19.1
Asia / Pacific	3,702	41.9	33,937	48.2	39,948	44.0
Total	40,201	16.3	378,708	22.9	447,398	25.5
Cargo (Metric Tonnes)	Oct 2023	% Change	Jan to Oct 2023	% Change	Nov 2022 to Oct 2023	% Change
Market
UK	41	39.0	542	46.5	580	27.1
EU	8,473	-3.9	77,596	-14.0	94,012	-15.4
Non-EU Europe	3,603	-3.6	34,027	-1.3	41,523	-11.1
Africa	6,591	9.8	62,526	-7.9	75,359	-9.4
North America	50,872	4.9	441,747	-4.7	534,925	-4.7
Latin America	4,368	-2.3	41,475	17.0	49,576	22.3
Middle East	24,599	17.9	212,181	7.0	252,397	5.5
Asia / Pacific	38,303	41.9	290,881	5.6	347,174	-2.2
Total	136,850	14.6	1,160,976	-0.4	1,395,545	-2.9