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Heathrow passenger numbers climb to record 39m

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Truss has voiced her support for Heathrow’s third runway, saying she agreed with the comment made by transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan. 
Truss has voiced her support for Heathrow’s third runway, saying she agreed with the comment made by transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan. 

Heathrow passenger numbers reached a record high of 38.8m in the first half of this year, a near two per cent increase on the previous year.

The figures

Profit before tax dropped at the airport dropped from £289m from the six months ended June 2018 to just £7m over the same period in 2019.

Revenues climbed by four per cent to £1.4bn and and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, a measure of a Heathrow’s overall financial performance, increased by 1.5 per cent to £900m.

Why it’s interesting

Despite some positive headline statements, cargo volumes at Heathrow actually declined by 4.2 per cent compared with the first half of 2018, which it attributed to its cargo operation reaching capacity.

“We expect volumes to remain relatively flat until the capacity constraints are resolved by expanding Heathrow, it said. “The result also reflects the general weakness in the global market in 2019.”

Heathrow will continue to bang the drum for its third runway, and said it had managed to raise a £1.4bn “war chest” to deliver the £14bn third runway.

But yesterday campaigners opposed to expansion were given a boost when they were given permission to challenge a High Court ruling in May.

Elsewhere, the airport is gearing up for a summer of turbulence. The airport risks being ground to a halt by strike action from the union Unite, which will lodge industrial action on the following days:

Heathrow said it was “disappointed that Unite will be taking strike action”.

“Following this decision, we are implementing contingency plans to ensure the airport remains open and operating safely throughout any coordinated action. We will be working alongside our airline partners to minimise disruption to passengers as they look towards their well- deserved summer holidays.”

What Heathrow said:

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “2019 is shaping up to be a strong year for Heathrow – our colleagues are delivering an excellent service to passengers, we’re investing millions to improve the airport and secure new skilled jobs for the future and we’ve set out our plans to expand Britain’s hub airport sustainably and affordably. We support the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and are working to ensure that global aviation plays its part.”