Heathrow airport has seen a fall in passengers during the peak summer holiday months - flagging challenges across the aviation sector.
The airport said that 7.87 million passengers travelled through them during August, down 2.1% year-on-year, despite a record busy day on Sunday 2 August with nearly 272,000 passengers. Similar trends were seen earlier this summer, with passenger numbers falling by 1.8% year-on-year in June and 1.5% year-on-year in July.
The London airport was recently overtaken by Istanbul as Europe's busiest airport in July but remained the most punctual airport in Europe with 98% of passengers waiting less than five minutes at security.
Heathrow's traffic data shows a 1.7% fall in UK passengers - the biggest across all its markets - with a 0.3% drop for those from the European Union. Passengers from the Middle East plunged by a fifth as the Iran war continues to disrupt travel from to and from the region.
Heathrow's boss reiterated calls to get plans for its third runway off the ground after being given the go-ahead by the government, insisting growth is being held back without it. Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said that the longest queue at Heathrow is the one made up of more than 40 airlines who can't secure a slot because their runways are full. A public consultation on the government's Heathrow expansion national policy statement closed on Tuesday 1 September.