Business and traffic commentary April 2018

07.00 11th May 2018

Record cargo performance in April boosts British trade

§ 6.6 million passengers travelled through the UK's only hub airport in April. Combined with March's figures, underlying passenger growth at Heathrow over the two months was 1.4%. For the first time, more than 13 million passengers travelled through Heathrow in March and April

§ Passenger growth was strongest for domestic and emerging markets. South Asia (+3.6%), Africa (+3.1%) and the UK (+0.8%) were the best performers in April, largely due to airlines flying larger, fuller aircraft to these destinations

§ Cargo enjoyed its 21st consecutive record month, as trade growth at the UK's largest port by value increased by 2.3%, compared to the same time last year

§ The US (+4.1%), India (+7.1%) and China (+10.9%) - the three biggest economies of the 21st century - were among the fastest growing countries for cargo 

§ In April, Heathrow launched a pitch process to encourage potential commercial development partners to share their innovative ideas on how to deliver expansion affordably, sustainably and financeably

§ Heathrow is aiming to lead the aviation industry in cutting single-use plastics, the first step of which is Heathrow's plan to recycle up to 13.5 million of the single-use coffee cups used at the airport annually

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:

"We're seeing more passengers and trade flow through Heathrow than ever before. A third runway is a tremendous opportunity to grab a greater share of this global growth for Britain and we're counting on our politicians to seize it with a "yes" vote on Heathrow expansion this summer."