Bosses at Heathrow Airport have revealed that strong passenger figures for the first quarter of 2013 led to a 6.1 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue.

A record 16 million people passed through the London-based airport during the three-month period, which was an annual improvement of 1.8 per cent.

The aviation hub - which is still the busiest in the world - clawed in revenue of £520 million across the quarter - up from £490 million in the corresponding period in 2012.

It seems that passengers spent slightly more in the airport's retail outlets between January and March, as net income per passenger grew from £6.26 in the first quarter of 2012 to £6.33 this year.

The sale of Stansted Airport to the Manchester Airports Group also helped the firm to reduce its debts.

Colin Matthews, chief executive officer of Heathrow, was pleased with the solid performance.

"Strong cash flow is an important element in funding major current and future investment to improve Heathrow still further," he remarked.