London Heathrow reports its busiest start to the year since the pandemic whilst keeping security queues low
Today, the UK’s busiest airport announced over 5.48 million passengers travelled through Heathrow in January making it the “strongest start of the year since the beginning of the pandemic.”
The majority of travellers passing through the airport were from the European Union (EU) – 1.62 million, followed by passengers from North America – 1.21 million. These represented a 135 per cent and 120 per cent increase in passenger traffic respectively.
Despite EU and North American travellers composing the two largest groups of passengers for the airport in January, the APAC market demonstrated the largest growth compared to last year according to Heathrow’s figures. With 764,000 passengers in January 2023, number of travellers at the airport from the APAC region were up 181.3 per cent compared to the previous year.
Importantly, despite the strong passenger recovery the airport also reported the congestion problems in the airport had been resolved with “98 per cent of passengers waiting less than ten minutes for security in January.”
The airport is also trialling eGates for children ages 10 and 11 in Terminal 5 which will continue the airport’s progress towards establishing “smooth and seamless journeys.”
Reporting on the month’s passenger traffic, CEO John Holland-Kaye said:
“Heathrow is back to its best, with passenger satisfaction scores meeting or exceeding 2019 levels. We are giving a warm welcome to families over the half-term getaway by delivering excellent service and bringing back the magic of travel.”
Article by Jess Brownlow
