London Heathrow saw its revenue grow by 2.3 per cent to £844 million in the first quarter of 2026 as passenger numbers continued to rise, despite the outbreak of the Iran war in late February.
But the UK hub warned that it has seen “some impact” from the Middle East crisis and was “closely monitoring developments”. Although it has not so far updated its outlook for 2026.
Heathrow catered for 18.9 million passengers in Q1, which represented a 3.7 per cent year-on-year increase. Traffic was boosted by a rise in transfer passengers following the start of the war, as well as the earlier timing of Easter this year compared with 2025, which helped to bolster leisure demand.
“While Heathrow has temporarily absorbed demand from elsewhere, passenger numbers for the rest of the year are likely to be impacted whilst there is significant uncertainty in the Middle East,” added the airport in a statement.
Heathrow achieved adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of £449 million during the quarter, which was a fall of 1.1 per cent compared with the same period of 2025. Adjusted pre-tax profit was flat year-on-year at £82 million.
Heathrow’s chief financial officer Sally Ding described Q1 as a “solid start” to 2026 for the airport but the outlook was “uncertain” due to the Middle East crisis.