Heathrow: UK-US flights power summer travel surge – but it’s STILL 200,000 behind pre-pandemic levels
Heathrow Airport reported seven million passengers passed through the hub last month thanks to UK-US flights, a massive uptick on last year but still 200,000 behind pre-pandemic levels.
The figure, which comes as airports and airlines are in full swing with summer travel, still falls short of the equivalent month pre-pandemic – but marks a 17.5 per cent year-on-year rise.
The West-London hub also hailed a recent agreed pay deal with the Unite Union, which ended fears of a summer of turmoil due to planned security worker strikes.
Transatlantic continued to drive recovery, according to the announcement, with more than 2 million passengers opting for trips across the pond, a 17 per cent rise on last year.
Last month, the airport announced that it currently operates “more daily flights than ever before between the UK and USA.”
Heathrow CEO’s John Holland Kaye said today: “I am very proud of the way that everyone at Heathrow has been working together to deliver excellent service at our busiest time of year.”
“Transatlantic travel continued to drive passenger numbers, especially in the last three days of the month as travellers headed home in time for Independence Day,” the airport added.
It comes after a busy beginning to the summer for the UK’s largest airport, which saw the airport name a successor for long-time chief John Holland Kaye.
The airport also agreed a pay deal with the Unite Union, to settle an ongoing pay dispute with security workers – that would have led to more than 2,000 walking out over 31 days this summer.
The agreement will quell fears of extended disruption during one of the most highly-anticipated seasons of travel in recent memory, as airlines and airports expect record passenger traffic to take them back to pre-pandemic levels of demand.
It said today “we are pleased to have agreed a two-year pay deal which helps colleagues with the cost of living crisis and means that travellers can be confident that their travel plans won’t be affected by strike action.”
Looking ahead, data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium, shows July is schedule to see the highest number of UK departures since October 2019, with total flights at 89 per cent of pre-pandemic levels and departures sitting at 104,056.