The air travel demand outlook “remains uncertain” amid economic turbulence, continuing Covid-19 concerns and war in Ukraine, Heathrow cautioned today.
Almost 5.8 million passengers used the London hub in September, 15% below equivalent pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
It claimed to have recorded the busiest summer out of any European hub airport despite setting a capacity cap which has now been removed.
Heathrow said: “Passenger service levels, which had been higher than any European hub between January and June, dipped at the beginning of July as passenger demand started to exceed overall capacity of the aviation ecosystem, but improved significantly after we introduced a departing passenger cap, which successfully kept supply and demand in balance.
“As a result, the vast majority of passengers travelling through Heathrow this summer had a very good experience.”
The airport added that the “demand outlook remains uncertain, with growing economic headwinds, a new wave of Covid and the escalating situation in Ukraine. However, we expect peak days at Christmas to be very busy.
“Resource levels across the airport, airlines and their ground handlers have been increasing and we have now removed the cap. We are working with our airline partners to develop a more targeted mechanism, which protects passenger service during peak periods.”
The focus over the next 12 months is to get capacity, service levels and resilience “back to the high levels that they were before the pandemic”.
But Heathrow added: “This relies on having a regulatory settlement that provides enough cash flow to invest in our operations and capital projects, and to maintain an investment grade credit rating.”
Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “Heathrow has grown more in the past 12 months than any airport in Europe and we’ve delivered a great passenger experience to the vast majority of travellers.
“I’m proud of the way our team has worked with airlines and their ground handlers to get 18 million passengers successfully away.
“While we face many economic headwinds, as well as the legacy of Covid, our aim is to get back to full capacity and the world-class service people should expect from the UK’s hub airport as soon as possible.”
The airport welcomed the ICAO Assembly’s “landmark” commitment to target net zero carbon emissions for international aviation by 2050.
“We have been working hard to build support for this and to ensure that the government policies are in place to support the rapid increase in production and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel,” Heathrow added.