London Heathrow has reported a “strong” start to the 2023 summer season, with 7.6 million passengers travelling through the airport in July, a 21.4 per cent increase on the previous year.
The UK hub’s passenger numbers continue to rise, having reached 7 million in June and 6.7 million in May thanks in part to an increase in transatlantic traffic as more routes and frequencies are added to the network.
Services between Heathrow and New York proved the busiest last month, with 31 daily flights connecting the two business hubs.
In a statement the airport said passenger service has also seen a marked improvement on last year’s chaotic summer season, which was marred by security delays and the introduction of a daily cap on passengers. In the past month, the airport said security queues were “consistently under five minutes”. The airport narrowly avoided a 31-day strike that threatened the summer peak after security staff at Heathrow accepted an improved pay offer at the end of June.
Between August 2022 and July 2023, Heathrow’s passenger numbers reached 73.9 million, marking an increase of 59.3 per cent on the preceding 12-month period, although still below pre-pandemic levels.
Heathrow said it remains “one of very few” international airports serving more than 100 long-haul routes and that it “continues to work closely” with airline partners to increase routes and flight frequencies.
The includes new British Airways services to Riga and Belgrade from October, Virgin re-establishing its Dubai route after a four-year hiatus, and Lufthansa flights from Heathrow to Salzburg and Friedrichshafen.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “It's great to see so many passengers getting away... We've got a great range of popular destinations and our teams are delivering excellent service which will ensure your travels get off to the best start.”
Following a resignation announcement in June, Holland-Kaye will step down at the end of the summer period and will be replaced by Thomas Woldbye, group CEO at Copenhagen Airports.