Heathrow remains Europe’s busiest airport in first half of 2024
London Heathrow Airport has retained its title as the busiest airport in Europe for the first half of this year, with over eight million passengers travelling through its terminals in July. However, the introduction of £10 ETA charges has cost the airport 90,000 transfer passengers so far; described as “devastating” for the airport’s ongoing competitiveness.
July 2024 also marks the first time Heathrow has surpassed 1.8 million passengers in a week, a milestone that has now been achieved three weeks in a row. Cargo tonnage during the period also increased 8% compared to July 2023.
“In July, we are smashing a passenger record almost every single day and we’re chasing down our never before seen goal of serving eight million passengers in a single month,” explained Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye. He added that although there were “a few potential challenges which could have caused [the airport] to stumble” (such as the recent global IT outage or illegal protest activity), these had no material impact on the month’s flights.
UK terminal passengers saw the largest change within the month, up 14.7% to 409,000; followed by EU and Middle East travelers with a rise of 7.7% and 6.9% respectively. By total volume, EU passengers comprise the largest demographic so far this year (at over 15.9 million), followed by North America (11.7 million).
However, the addition of a £10 per person electronic travel authorization (ETA) system – first introduced in November 2023 for passengers from certain countries entering the UK or transiting through without legal residence or a visa – has “lost Heathrow 90,000 on passenger transfers on routes operating to and from the seven countries included in the scheme,” explained the airport, describing the scheme as “devastating for [its] hub competitiveness”.
“We urge Government to review the inclusion of airside transit passengers, every little bit of extra competitiveness that Government can deliver for aviation will help deliver vital growth for the whole of the UK economy,” concluded Heathrow.
