Heathrow today urged the Labour government to set the aviation sector up for “long term success” in next week’s Budget.
The call from the UK’s largest airport came as it reported record passenger numbers over the summer.
A total of 30.7 million passengers passed through Heathrow in the June to September quarter, bringing the total for the first nine months of the year to 63.1 million, up 6.2% year-on-year.
Heathrow achieved both the busiest departures and busiest arrivals day in the airport’s history on July 24 and September 2, respectively.
The London hub has upgraded its annual throughput forecast to 83.8 million “to reflect the sustained record-breaking passenger numbers”.
Heathrow made a £350 million adjusted pre-tax profit for the nine months.
And in a message ahead of the Budget, Heathrow said: “Co-ordinated government policymaking on the financial policies affecting aviation will help maximise the country’s growth ambitions, building on the 100,000s of jobs and £186 billion of trade already supported by Heathrow exports.
“Continuing to back British SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) through a revenue certainty mechanism and reforming the regulatory system to promote investment while keeping passengers at the heart of decisions will help deliver on the government’s ‘economic growth’ and ‘clean energy superpower’ missions.
The financial results statement said: “Heathrow’s continually growing passenger base, strong credit ratings and robust liquidity put us on a sure-footing for the future and deliver confidence to investors.
“We expect to invest over £1 billion into the UK’s hub this year alone and we are seeing high passenger satisfaction scores. No dividends are currently forecast for 2024, although it is probable subject to financial performance.”
Heathrow noted that a summer of sport and music had attracted millions to the UK.
“Consecutive record-breaking weeks and strong operational performance characterised the summer months,” the airport said. “While Olympic travellers were taking advantage of European city breaks, iconic music stars passing through the UK caused a late summer spike in departures.”
Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: “This summer has tested our colleagues, infrastructure and airlines to co-operate harder than ever before, with record numbers of passengers travelling through the busiest two runway airport in the world.
“We have risen to this challenge, delivering excellent service with over 91% of passengers waiting at security for less than five minutes.
“Looking forwards, the autumn Budget is a prime opportunity to set the aviation industry up for long term success.
“Backing British SAF through a revenue certainty mechanism and committing to joined up policy making that makes sense for aviation will supercharge Heathrow’s potential to deliver growth and investment for the whole of the country.”