(Alliance News) - Heathrow Airport on Thursday said terminal passengers increased by nearly 30% last year, as flights to the Asia-Pacific region fully recovered from pandemic-era travel restrictions and the North American market continued to see strong growth.
The west London airport handled 79.2 million passengers in 2023, up 29% from 2022. This was topped off by what Heathrow called its "busiest ever December", with 6.7 million passengers passing through, up 13% from a year before.
Most hectic of all was Friday, December 22, when nearly 250,000 people used Heathrow to go home for the holidays.
"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," said Chief Executive Officer Thomas Woldbye, took over the helm of the airport from John Holland-Kaye back in October.
Despite Brexit, the EU was by far the single most important destination for Heathrow travellers, with 26.2 million headed there last year, up 23% from 2022. North America remained the second largest market at 20.0 million passengers and also saw stronger annual growth at 30%.
Asia-Pacific was the third most popular destination, accounting for 9.8 million terminal passengers, up 76% from 2022, during which Covid-19 restrictions lingered in China.
Cargo traffic, which was less affected by the pandemic, was up just 2.2% in 2023, to 1.4 million tonnes.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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