Heathrow Business and traffic commentary September 2022 (4630C)

TIDM10FX TIDM88BX

RNS Number : 4630C

Heathrow

11 October 2022

Heathrow busiest European hub over summer, but outlook for demand remains uncertain

-- Close to 5.8 million passengers travelled through Heathrow in September, 15% below 2019 levels. The airport recorded the busiest summer out of any European hub airport.

-- 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.

-- 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.

-- Our 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. 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.

-- We welcome 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 CEO 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."

 
 Terminal Passengers                                                                            Oct 
  (000s)                                                           Jan                         2021 
                                                                    to                           to 
                                      Sep                          Sep                          Sep 
                                     2022   % Change              2022   % Change              2022   % Change 
 Market 
=====================  ==================  =========  ================  =========  ================  ========= 
 UK                                   257       24.5             2,378      128.6             3,106      138.6 
 EU                                 2,087       78.0            15,574      285.0            18,787      258.9 
 Non-EU Europe                        370       89.9             3,239      296.1             3,958      270.1 
 Africa                               245      201.5             2,043      236.6             2,476      192.2 
 North America                      1,510      279.5            11,070      658.9            12,949      637.4 
 Latin America                        142      226.1             1,240      553.3             1,463      436.3 
 Middle East                          616      132.6             5,003      383.2             6,268      324.5 
 Asia / Pacific                       553      164.0             3,657      277.7             4,428      230.4 
 
 Total                              5,780      124.8            44,204      335.0            53,435      301.8 
---------------------  ------------------  ---------  ----------------  ---------  ----------------  --------- 
 
 
 Air Transport                                                                                  Oct 
  Movements                                                        Jan                         2021 
                                                                    to                           to 
                                      Sep                          Sep                          Sep 
                                     2022   % Change              2022   % Change              2022   % Change 
 Market 
=====================  ==================  =========  ================  =========  ================  ========= 
 UK                                 1,931       11.4            19,430       79.3            25,807       83.7 
 EU                                15,198       52.9           121,239      186.9           151,536      162.8 
 Non-EU Europe                      2,771       71.3            24,382      203.6            30,784      180.7 
 Africa                             1,026       62.9             9,856       84.1            12,389       66.5 
 North America                      6,881      108.2            54,124      141.7            66,502      127.1 
 Latin America                        596       81.2             5,540      211.8             6,920      169.9 
 Middle East                        2,240       37.3            18,712       64.8            24,403       57.5 
 Asia / Pacific                     2,559       24.2            20,293       28.0            27,401       23.6 
 
 Total                             33,202       56.3           273,576      132.1           345,742      116.6 
---------------------  ------------------  ---------  ----------------  ---------  ----------------  --------- 
 
 
                                                                                                Oct 
                                                                   Jan                         2021 
                                                                    to                           to 
 Cargo                                Sep                          Sep                          Sep 
  (Metric Tonnes)                    2022   % Change              2022   % Change              2022   % Change 
 Market 
=====================  ==================  =========  ================  =========  ================  ========= 
 UK                                     5      -75.6               101      -45.6               136      -33.8 
 EU                                 7,530      -22.2            76,892      -15.1           107,528       -7.2 
 Non-EU Europe                      3,169      -41.3            28,753      -42.1            46,689      -30.8 
 Africa                             5,492        7.9            61,270        9.1            82,714        3.6 
 North America                     44,744       12.9           399,897       16.7           538,917       21.7 
 Latin America                      3,849       69.2            30,800       96.8            38,643       47.7 
 Middle East                       20,741        5.5           174,287        4.6           236,312        5.2 
 Asia / Pacific                    24,569      -29.0           239,891      -16.3           355,613       -7.1 
 
 Total                            110,098       -5.4         1,011,889        0.4         1,406,551        5.0 
---------------------  ------------------  ---------  ----------------  ---------  ----------------  --------- 
 

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October 11, 2022 02:25 ET (06:25 GMT)