China growth pushes Heathrow’s August passenger numbers past 7.5 million

Heathrow Airport saw its 22nd consecutive record month of growth in August as passenger numbers topped 7.5 million.

In total, 7,672,000 people moved through the terminals of the UK’s busiest airport last month, up 2.6% on August 2017.

The uptick was partly attributed to the bank holiday and passengers returning with the end of summer.

Asia saw the biggest year-on-year rise in passenger levels at 6.3%, with people flying to and from the region via Hainan, Tianjin and Beijing Capital.

Heathrow welcomed its first direct flight from Chinese megacity Chongqing in August. Run by Tianjin Airlines, the route is Heathrow’s 10th direct connection with China and has the capacity to transport up to 81,000 passengers annually.

North America was the airport’s second biggest growth region for passenger levels, up 4.7%.

John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow, 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.”

He added: “With expansion we’ll be able to connect more points of the UK to global growth.”

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