Heathrow Airport is gearing up for a record-breaking end to its busiest year, with passenger numbers expected to surge this Christmas.
The Hounslow-based airport reported that it handled 6.5 million passengers in November, marking a 6.1% increase from the previous year, and anticipates December will set another record, as reported by .
The festive period is likely to see passenger numbers on Christmas day jump by nearly 25%. This robust demand has resulted in eight of Heathrow's major destinations serving over 1 million passengers so far in 2024.
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The 海角视频's largest airport is on track for 25 of its routes to hit the 1 million passenger milestone, an uptick from 24 in the previous year. "This year has been all about providing high levels of service for record amounts of passengers at Heathrow, and November was no different," said Heathrow’s CEO, Thomas Woldbye.
"As we embrace the festive season, our focus remains on ensuring smooth, joyful journeys—whether it is helping passengers get away for Christmas to reunite with their loved ones, or making sure cargo reaches its destination on time."
Following a bumper summer season, Heathrow had already predicted in November that it would surpass its pre-pandemic full-year passenger traffic record. The airport expects to welcome some 83.8 million travellers in 2024, which would exceed the 2019 figure by 2.9 million.
With the latest figures released on Wednesday, Heathrow's January to November tally has reached 76.8 million, a 6% year-on-year increase.
Despite fears that the post-Covid travel boom, fuelled by pent-up demand, might lose momentum, this year has seen a steady demand for travel. Excluding Europe and the 海角视频, transatlantic journeys have constituted the majority of Heathrow's annual traffic, with over 20 million trips.
In addition to the bustling activity, the hub also received government approval for the French buyout group Ardian and the Saudi PIF’s acquisition of a profitable majority stake, as reported by City AM last month.