Heathrow passenger numbers surge in 2023

Heathrow passenger numbers surged 29% in 2023, hitting 79.2m for the year.

The London airport said it had seen its busiest December on record, with 6.7m passengers passing through its gates.

For the year as a whole, Heathrow registered its biggest increase in passengers from the Asia/Pacific region, up 76% year-on-year, driven by a lifting of Covid-19-related travel restrictions in the area.

Heathrow added that roughly 1.4m tonnes of cargo moved through the airport last year, a roughly 2% increase year-on-year.

Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: "As we move into the new year, I want to extend my sincere thanks to all our team, Heathrow colleagues, and partners for their hard and successful work over the busy festive period, which went really well in terms of service and operations.

"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."

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com