A record 5.8 million passengers flew to and from Heathrow last month, including more than two million during half-term – another record for the airport.
Around two-thirds of half-term passengers were taking winter sun breaks versus ski breaks and trips to colder climes.
Heathrow said that even before an additional 207,000 leap year passengers, it was "on track to serve more passengers this year than ever before".
New additions to its route network this month included British Airways services to Abu Dhabi, Kos and Izmir, Virgin Atlantic’s new Bangalore flight, and new Vueling services to Barcelona and Paris Orly.
With half-term out of the way, the airport is now looking ahead to the next getaway – Easter – and said its teams were already "ready and prepared" for another successful peak period.
A threat of strike action does, though, still hang over the Easter period at Heathrow, with the Public and Commercial Services union currently balloting more than 600 Border Force members at the airport on strike action in an ongoing dispute over shift patterns and working conditions.
With the ballot due to close on 22 March, the earliest PCS members at Heathrow could strike would be 5 April, which falls in the middle of the Easter holidays (29 March to 12 April).
’Missed opportunity’
The airport also had a pop at chancellor Jeremy Hunt and his spring Budget last week, lamenting a failure to restore a UK tax-free shopping regime for visitors. Abta said the jury remained out on whether Hunt’s attempts to put more pounds in people’s pockets would create the conditions for people to spend on travel.
"The chancellor missed the opportunity to back British business at the spring Budget, prioritising short-term decisions over policies that would deliver the growth and jobs the UK economy needs," said Heathrow. "Instead, he raised taxes on aviation with no ring-fencing for the green transition."
Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s chief executive, added: “It was wonderful to welcome so many passengers for the first holiday peak of 2024, setting a new Heathrow record.
"While we are serving more people, visitors to the UK are spending less since the removal of tax-free shopping, impacting businesses across the country. The spring Budget was a missed opportunity to give the whole tourism, hospitality and retail sector the support it needs to compete internationally.”
