The outgoing Heathrow CEO has expressed concerns over the UK losing its position as the number one airport in the world for international passenger traffic, saying it makes the UK "a less attractive” place to invest.
Colin Matthews (pictured), who will step down from his role at the end of June after the opening of the new Terminal 2, again stated the need for extra capacity at Heathrow and urged the proposed building of a third runway to be given the go-ahead.
“Dubai’s announcement that it has overtaken Heathrow in the last two months shows that the UK will soon no longer have the world’s number one airport for international passenger traffic,” said Matthews.
“We want Britain to continue to compete globally against the best hub airports in the world but without a third runway, Heathrow’s comparative decline will make the whole of the UK a less attractive place to do business,” he added.
Queen's Terminal: Heathrow Terminal 2 due to open in JuneMatthews was making his comments after releasing its March passenger traffic numbers which showed a drop of 2.8 per cent compared to February.
Heathrow confirmed some 5.8 million passengers passed through in March.
Passengers per aircraft numbers were also down - 3 per cent from the previous month.
Matthews said the reduction in traffic reflects the shift of Easter holidays from April to March. “Passenger numbers were in line with expectations in March,” he added.