Heathrow airport reports that it saw 78 million passengers travelling through the hub in 2017, up 3.1 per cent on the previous year. The airport attributes the growth to larger and fuller aircraft.
In addition to record-breaking passenger numbers, 1.7 million metric tonnes of cargo travelled through Heathrow, which it says is equivalent to 134,000 London buses or 136 copies of the Shard building. Key markets for cargo transport were the US, East Asia and Europe.
The airport says its noise footprint was the smallest recorded level in 11 years, with 15 per cent fewer households affected by noise. Heathrow claims this is a result of encouraging airlines to use quieter aircraft and decreasing night flights by 32 per cent over the year.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said he hopes to deliver more record-breaking results in 2018 as the airport continues developing plans for expansion.
heathrow.com