Heathrow Business and traffic commentary Dec 2023 (2905Z)

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RNS Number : 2905Z

Heathrow

11 January 2024

Heathrow ends year with busiest ever December

-- Christmas and New Year festivities raised passenger numbers with more than 6.6 million travelling through Heathrow in December - bringing the total number of passengers up to 79 million in 2023

-- Averaging at around 216,000 daily passengers last month, our busiest day over the festive period was Friday 22(nd) December with almost 250,000 passing through the airport to reunite with loved ones in time for the holidays

-- Forward planning and collaboration with airport partners ensured that 142,000 passengers travelling on the 25(th) December had smooth journeys, with nearly 800 flights arriving and departing on our busiest Christmas day ever

-- Transatlantic travel remained a key driver for passenger numbers with 1.6 million travelling to and from North America in December, as New York (JFK) clinched the top spot as our most popular destination this year with over 3 million passengers in total

-- 2023 was Terminal 5's busiest year ever, surpassing 33 million passengers for the second time since opening 15 years ago and serving 2.6 million passengers in December alone

-- The gift-giving season saw Heathrow process 133,277 tonnes of cargo in December, culminating in a total of over 1.43 million tonnes processed in 2023 - this represents more than 2% growth compared with 2022, with traders and forwarders taking advantage of our growing long-haul network to fly their goods around the world

-- Highlighting Heathrow's position as the fourth busiest airport globally, our routes with over a million passengers rose to 24 in 2023, with Boston and Geneva passing the milestone in December*

Heathrow CEO 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."

*Full list of the 24 routes with over a million passengers in 2023, descending from highest passenger volume: New York (JFK), Dubai (DXB), Qatar (DOH), Dublin (DUB), Los Angeles (LAX), Madrid (MAD), Amsterdam (AMS), Frankfurt (FRA), Delhi (DEL), Istanbul (IST), Munich (MUC), Hong Kong (HKG), Toronto (YYZ), Singapore (SIN), Zurich (ZRH), Mumbai (BOM), Chicago (ORD), California (SFO), Paris (CDG), New Jersey (EWR), Edinburgh (EDI), Lisbon (LIS), Boston (BOS), Geneva (GVA).

 
 Traffic Summary 
 
 December 2023 
 
 Terminal Passengers                                                                     Jan 2023 
  (000s)                                                      Jan to                           to 
                               Dec 2023   % Change          Dec 2023   % Change          Dec 2023   % Change 
 Market 
=====================  ================  =========  ================  =========  ================  ========= 
 UK                                 358       10.7             4,243       26.4             4,243       26.4 
 EU                               2,110       14.0            26,160       22.8            26,160       22.8 
 Non-EU Europe                      487       13.6             5,329       19.8             5,329       19.8 
 Africa                             309       -0.5             3,599       25.0             3,599       25.0 
 North America                    1,612       10.9            19,961       29.6            19,961       29.6 
 Latin America                      186        8.7             2,065       19.8             2,065       19.8 
 Middle East                        744        7.8             8,018       15.4             8,018       15.4 
 Asia / Pacific                     892       25.1             9,777       76.2             9,777       76.2 
 
 Total                            6,699       12.7            79,152       28.5            79,152       28.5 
---------------------  ----------------  ---------  ----------------  ---------  ----------------  --------- 
 
 
 
 Air Transport                                                                           Jan 2023 
  Movements                                                   Jan to                           to 
                               Dec 2023   % Change          Dec 2023   % Change          Dec 2023   % Change 
 Market 
=====================  ================  =========  ================  =========  ================  ========= 
 UK                               2,787        6.1            32,367       19.3            32,367       19.3 
 EU                              15,802       10.4           195,359       17.6           195,359       17.6 
 Non-EU Europe                    3,573       10.3            39,884       17.9            39,884       17.9 
 Africa                           1,363        0.6            15,537       14.5            15,537       14.5 
 North America                    7,248       11.1            91,201       22.9            91,201       22.9 
 Latin America                      796        6.8             8,757       15.5             8,757       15.5 
 Middle East                      2,492        2.9            29,844       16.7            29,844       16.7 
 Asia / Pacific                   3,728       20.5            41,138       42.3            41,138       42.3 
 
 Total                           37,789       10.1           454,087       20.5           454,087       20.5 
---------------------  ----------------  ---------  ----------------  ---------  ----------------  --------- 
 
 
                                                                                       Jan 2023 
 Cargo                                                      Jan to                           to 
  (Metric Tonnes)            Dec 2023   % Change          Dec 2023   % Change          Dec 2023   % Change 
 Market 
==================  =================  =========  ================  =========  ================  ========= 
 UK                                15      179.6               598       46.6               598       46.6 
 EU                             8,841       10.0            96,111       -9.8            96,111       -9.8 
 Non-EU Europe                  3,372       -8.6            40,991       -2.3            40,991       -2.3 
 Africa                         7,978       22.3            78,613       -2.6            78,613       -2.6 
 North America                 51,333       11.0           544,725       -2.1           544,725       -2.1 
 Latin America                  4,554       16.5            50,802       16.7            50,802       16.7 
 Middle East                   24,091       23.6           261,678        9.7           261,678        9.7 
 Asia / Pacific                33,092       22.7           357,052        7.7           357,052        7.7 
 
 Total                        133,277       16.0         1,430,571        2.2         1,430,571        2.2 
------------------  -----------------  ---------  ----------------  ---------  ----------------  --------- 
 

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January 11, 2024 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)