Heathrow is heading into its busiest festive period ever with the Christmas Day boom
Heathrow Airport is expecting its busiest festive season ever this year, with passenger numbers on Christmas Day up more than 20 percent on last year.
Britain’s busiest airport saw 141,000 passengers travel through its terminals on December 25 and expects this to rise to ‘around 170,000’ passengers this year.
Heathrow said on Tuesday it carried 6.5 million passengers in its busiest November on record, with routes to Singapore, Edinburgh, Lisbon, Abu Dhabi, Chicago, Zurich, Mumbai and Paris proving popular.
The eight cities joined Heathrow’s ‘millionaire club’ last month after having more than a million passengers since the start of the year.
Heathrow believes 25 millionaire club routes will be visited this year, compared to 24 last year.
Asia Pacific routes saw the strongest growth last month compared to December last year, up 11.4 percent to almost 11.7 million, followed by domestic UK flights at 9.8 percent and EU routes at 8.1 percent.
Britain’s busiest airport has prepared ‘festive activities’ for travelers in December
African routes were the only geographic area in decline, with passenger numbers down 7.5 percent to around 3.3 million passengers.
Heathrow has also already exceeded 2023 freight volumes by 11 percent, which was due to ‘increased freight capacity’ on passenger aircraft and a stronger overall demand market.
The airport has prepared ‘festive activities’ for what is expected to be its busiest December ever, including meet-and-greets with Santa Claus, ‘Bjorn the Polar Bear’ and decorations.
Thomas Woldbye, CEO of Heathrow, said: ‘This year has been all about providing a high level of service to record numbers of passengers at Heathrow, and November was no different.
‘As we embrace the holidays, our focus remains on ensuring smooth, joyful journeys – whether it’s helping passengers get away for Christmas to reunite with their loved ones, or ensuring that freight reaches its destination on time.
‘Look out for our exciting seasonal surprises at all terminals as we aim to make this holiday season magical for those traveling through Heathrow.’
DIY INVESTMENT PLATFORMS
A. J. Bell
A. J. Bell
Easy investing and ready-made portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free fund trading and investment ideas
interactive investor
interactive investor
Invest for a fixed amount from € 4.99 per month
Sax
Sax
Get £200 back in trading fees
Trade 212
Trade 212
Free trading and no account fees
Affiliate links: If you purchase a product, This is Money may earn a commission. These deals have been chosen by our editors because we believe they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.