Heathrow has claimed a record-breaking year after achieving its busiest Christmas and new year period.
More than seven million passengers used the London hub in December, bringing the total to 83.9 million passengers in 2024 – three million more than the previous 2019 pre-pandemic record.
Christmas Day saw a record 160,000 passengers, a 13% increase on the previous high in 2023.
Heathrow reported that 92% of passengers passed through security in less than five minutes last month.
New York, Los Angeles, Dublin and Madrid were among the top destinations in 2024 from Heathrow, as the airport maintained the status of most connected airport in the world.
Heathrow has now forecast 84.2 million passengers in 2025 in the back of “encouraging” holiday bookings.
Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: “2024 was an exciting and a record-breaking year at Heathrow – I’m proud of all my colleagues and our partners who worked so hard to deliver great experiences for more passengers than ever before.
“In 2025, our journey towards better value for our customers will continue by investing in the kind of facilities our passengers and airlines are looking for.
“We aim to become more innovative to ensure that our airport delivers for the whole of the UK.”
Meanwhile, Manchester Airports Group (MAG) saw 4.6 million passengers used its three airports last month, up 7.9% on December 2023.
Rolling 12-month figures show that MAG – which owns and operates Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports – handled 64.7 million passengers in the year to December 2024.
Manchester airport handled 2.2 million passengers in the month, a 10.9% increase on the same month in 2023.
Stansted also served 2.2 million passengers across the month, an increase of 7.4%.
Both airports recorded their busiest ever Christmas Days, with more than 22,500 passengers flying through Manchester airport, and more than 5,400 travelling through Stansted.
More than 150,000 passengers used East Midlands airport in December, bringing its rolling total for 2024 to 4.1 million, up 5.1% year-on-year.
MAG chief executive Ken O’Toole said: “Reflecting on the last 12 months, I am proud of the performance across Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports.
“Record-breaking passenger numbers demonstrated that our airports are offering extensive and varied route networks, and are delivering the positive experience that passengers are looking for.
“December’s passenger numbers signalled a strong end to the year, with year-on-year growth across the group and record numbers of travellers using Manchester and London Stansted on Christmas Day.”
He added: “Looking forward, 2025 will be significant for MAG as we complete Manchester airport’s transformation programme after more than £1 billion of investment.
“We will also progress work on London Stansted’s terminal extension and continue to deliver £120 million of improvements at East Midlands Airport.
“These investments will sit alongside our priority to offer the best possible experience for our passengers and introduction of the latest technology across the group.”