Heathrow today reported a strong start to the summer flying season with a 3% rise in passenger numbers.
This meant that a record 6.48 million passengers used the London hub in May – an average of 209,000 a day despite British Airways services being disrupted by its IT systems meltdown at the end of the month.
A new Delta Air Lines service to Portland helped boost transatlantic traffic by 1.3% while increased frequency by AeroMexico underpinned 10% growth to Mexico.
Middle East traffic rose by 7% with an additional Emirates Airbus A380 superjumbo service to Dubai and new British Airways links to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Terhan.
Heathrow continues to progress its own planning consultation which will start later this year giving the public the opportunity to feedback on several design options for expanding the airport with a third runway.
The airport’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, said: “The summer travel season is off to a strong start – Heathrow welcomed more passengers in May than in any previous year and trade flying through the UK’s biggest port grew 16% showing Britain is open for business.”