Heathrow Traffic and business commentary December & FY 2016 (8475T)

TIDM88BX TIDM62CD

RNS Number : 8475T

Heathrow

11 January 2017

07.00 11(th) January 2017

Heathrow's milestone year: Record passenger numbers, award-winning service and Britain's new runway

Full-Year 2016

-- Heathrow celebrated 70 years of history as Britain's front door in 2016, welcoming a record 76 million passengers (+1%) alongside 1.5 million tonnes of cargo (+3%) travelling through the UK's hub - that's nearly three full Millennium Stadia of passengers a day and annual cargo equivalent to 118,000 London buses, 7,500 Angels of the North or nearly 30 fully-loaded Queen Elizabeth II ocean liners

-- For the second year running, Heathrow was delighted to be named as the 'Best Airport in Western Europe' by its passengers at the annual Skytrax Global Airport Awards

-- Larger, quieter and more efficient aircraft continued to be a driver for growth in passenger volumes at Heathrow. In 2016, around 40% of Heathrow's long haul passengers travelled on cleaner and quieter new generation aircraft, such as Airbus A380s, A350s and Boeing 787 Dreamliners - up from around 25% in 2015 and helping to reduce the airport's impact on local communities

-- In a major boost for the economy, the Government announced its support for a new runway at Heathrow - the first full-length runway in the south east since the second world war. The Government will begin consulting on a national policy statement early this year

December 2016

-- December passenger volumes set a new record for Heathrow, with 6.2 million passengers travelling through the airport (+4.4%) - emerging markets in the Middle East (+16.9%) and Asia (+3.2%) continued to be drivers for growth as well as strong performance on North American segments (+2.1%)

-- Cargo growth was also strong, with trade through Heathrow increasing 5.1% driven in particular by growth to emerging market destinations - Brazil up 18.6%, India up 12.1% and China up 8.3%

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:

"Heathrow celebrated 70 years as the country's front door in 2016 and I'm proud that we were able to end this year on such a high note. Whether it was welcoming back a triumphant Team GB from Rio or giving that special Heathrow service to a record number of passengers, increasing Britain's trade with the rest of the world or securing Government support for expansion - Heathrow is Britain's airport and we will continue to help all of our country thrive for decades to come."

 
 Traffic Summary 
 
 December 2016 
 
                                                                 Jan                    Jan 2016 
                                                                  to                          to 
 Terminal Passengers                                             Dec                         Dec 
  (000s)                           Month   % Change             2016   % Change             2016   % Change 
 Heathrow                          6,163        4.4           75,676        1.0           75,676        1.0 
=====================  =================  =========  ===============  =========  ===============  ========= 
 
 
                                                                 Jan                    Jan 2016 
                                                                  to                          to 
 Air Transport                                                   Dec                         Dec 
  Movements                        Month   % Change             2016   % Change             2016   % Change 
 Heathrow                         36,895       -0.8          473,231        0.2          473,231        0.2 
=====================  =================  =========  ===============  =========  ===============  ========= 
 
 
                                                                 Jan                    Jan 2016 
                                                                  to                          to 
 Cargo                                                           Dec                         Dec 
  (Metric Tonnes)                  Month   % Change             2016   % Change             2016   % Change 
 Heathrow                        133,641        5.1        1,541,202        3.0        1,541,202        3.0 
=====================  =================  =========  ===============  =========  ===============  ========= 
 
 
 Market comparison                                               Jan                    Jan 2016 
  (000s)                                                          to                          to 
                                                                 Dec                         Dec 
                                   Month   % Change             2016   % Change             2016   % Change 
 Market 
=====================  =================  =========  ===============  =========  ===============  ========= 
 UK                                  361       -0.5            4,648       -9.6            4,648       -9.6 
 Europe                            2,440        4.8           31,737        1.8           31,737        1.8 
 Africa                              283        0.4            3,164       -4.1            3,164       -4.1 
 North America                     1,381        2.1           17,171       -0.5           17,171       -0.5 
 Latin America                        97       -4.0            1,226        1.4            1,226        1.4 
 Middle East                         677       16.9            6,961        8.8            6,961        8.8 
 Asia / Pacific                      924        3.2           10,771        2.8           10,771        2.8 
 Total                             6,163        4.4           75,676        1.0           75,676        1.0 
---------------------  -----------------  ---------  ---------------  ---------  ---------------  --------- 
 

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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January 11, 2017 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)