The number of passengers making their way through Heathrow fell last month.

At a time when the airport is risking losing its title as the world's busiest transport hub, it welcomed 5.8 million holidaymakers through its doors. This was a drop of 2.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.

Load factors also dipped by 3.6 per cent to 72.2 per cent, while the number of travellers per aircraft decreased by three per cent to 146.6. Bosses stated this was as a result of the Easter holidays shifting from March to April this year.

The news comes after Dubai International announced it welcomed more passengers over a two-month period than any other airport in the world, beating Heathrow into second position. If this continues, it means the UK will no longer have the globe's number one passenger hub for international traffic. 

Chief executive officer at Heathrow Colin Matthews claimed this was another reason to allow the airport to develop a third runway. He added failing to do this would make the UK a less attractive place to do business.