Heathrow said the Christmas and New Year festivities helped raise passenger numbers last month, as more than 6.6 million travelled through the airport – bringing the total number of passengers up to 79 million in 2023.
Averaging at about 216,000 daily passengers in December, its busiest day over the festive period was Friday December 22, with almost 250,000 passing through the airport.
There were 142,000 passengers travelling on December 25, with nearly 800 flights arriving and departing on the airport’s busiest Christmas day ever.
Transatlantic travel remained a key driver, with 1.6 million travelling to and from North America in December.
New York (JFK) was Heathrow’s most popular destination this year with more than three million passengers in total.
The airport said last month was its busiest ever December, with passenger numbers up almost 13% year on year.
Terminal 5 surpassed 33 million passengers for the second time since opening 15 years ago and served 2.6 million passengers in December alone.
Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: “By ending 2023 on a high, a strong foundation is laid for 2024 during which Heathrow will continue to grow and to facilitate the UK’s potential for global growth.”