Some 7.5 million passengers passed through Britain’s busiest airport during August - the second busiest month in its history.

Passenger numbers were 2.6% higher than the same time last year, swelled by the August bank holiday and late summer travel.

On 15 separate days, Heathrow handled more than 250,000 passengers. August 31 was the busiest day for arrivals with more than 137,000 passengers touching down at Heathrow.

By continent, the largest growth in passenger movements was to and from Asia, up 6.3% on last year.

Heathrow said new services from Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Beijing Capital contributed to the spike. North America saw the second largest growth, up 4.7% on last year.

It comes after the first direct Tianjin Airlines flight from Chinese commerce hub Chongqing touched down last month, Heathrow’s 10th direct route to China.

John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow chief executive, said: “August has been another stellar month for Heathrow with passenger numbers and freight volumes continuing to reach unprecedented heights.

“It’s brilliant to see consumers and cargo making their way through the UK’s largest port to these new Chinese destinations. With expansion, we’ll be able to connect more points of the UK to global growth.”