After a weak January and February, passenger numbers in March were the highest since the start of the pandemic, following the Government’s removal of all travel restrictions in the UK.

Heathrow claims that the demand is driven by outbound leisure at weekends and during school holidays, as Brits make the most of the freedom to travel and cash in vouchers from trips cancelled during covid.  Inbound leisure and business travel remains weak due to high covid levels in the UK and the requirement to test before returning home.  

Heathrow is working closely with airlines and ground handlers to meet the increase in demand and are working with Border Force to ensure sufficient levels of resource are in place to cope with the large number of passengers returning to the UK over the next couple of weeks.

As the summer peak is expected to be very busy, with peak days close to 2019 levels, Heathrow is increasing their resources, with 12,000 new starters planned across the airport.  

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: 

“It is fantastic to see the airport coming back to life after two years, and I want to thank all Team Heathrow colleagues for working together to serve our passengers.  Everyone at Heathrow is doing everything we can to make sure passengers get on their way as smoothly and safely as possible.”