Heathrow records strong April, but unpredictability remains the harsh reality picture

Heathrow records strong April, but unpredictability remains the harsh reality

10 May, 2022

Heathrow records strong April, but unpredictability remains the harsh reality

 

  • 5 million passengers travelled through Heathrow in April, with outbound leisure travellers and Brits cashing in airline travel vouchers driving the recovery in passenger demand which is expected to last throughout the summer. As a result, we have increased our 2022 forecast from 45.5 million passengers to nearly 53 million – a 16% increase on our previous assumptions 
  • Despite the increase in passenger numbers, Heathrow delivered a strong service throughout the Easter getaway – with 97% of passengers through security within ten minutes compared to queues of over three hours at other airports. To maintain the service our passengers expect over the summer, we will be reopening Terminal 4 by July and are already recruiting up to 1,000 new security officers 
  • The ongoing war in Ukraine, higher fuel costs, continuing travel restrictions for key markets like the United States and the potential for a further variant of concern creates uncertainty going forward. Together with last week’s warning from the Bank of England that inflation is set to pass 10% and that the UK economy will likely ‘slide into recession’ means we are taking a realistic assessment that travel demand will reach 65% of pre-pandemic levels overall for the year
  • Heathrow’s largest carrier British Airways announced last week that it is expecting a return to only 74% of pre-pandemic travel this year – just 9% more than Heathrow’s forecasts which have proven to be amongst the most accurate in the industry during the pandemic 
  • Heathrow expects to remain lossmaking throughout this year and does not forecast paying any dividends to shareholders in 2022.  Some airlines have predicted a return to profitability this quarter and expect to resume paying dividends as a result of the ability to charge increased fares
  • The CAA is in the final stages of setting Heathrow’s airport charge for the next five years. It should be aiming to set a charge that can deliver the investments passengers want with affordable private financing while withstanding the shocks which are undoubtedly to come. Our proposals will deliver the easy, quick and reliable journeys passengers want for less than a 2% increase in ticket prices. We have proposed an option for the CAA to lower fees by a further £8 and to repay airlines a cash rebate if more people travel than expected. We urge the CAA to carefully consider this common sense approach and avoid chasing the low-quality plan being pushed by some airlines which will only result in the return of longer queues and more frequent delays for passengers  

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: 

“We all want to see travel get back to pre-pandemic levels as quickly as possible, and while I am encouraged by the rise in passenger numbers, we also have to be realistic. There are significant challenges ahead – the CAA can either plan for them with a robust and adaptable regulatory settlement that delivers for passengers and withstands any shocks, or it can prioritise airline profits by cutting back on passenger service leaving the industry to scramble when things go wrong in future.” 

 

Traffic Summary

      
       

April 2022

     
       

Terminal Passengers
(000s)

 Apr 2022

% Change

Jan to
Apr 2022

% Change

May 2021 to
Apr 2022

% Change

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

             293

373.7

             963

323.0

           2,504

227.5

EU

           1,920

1009.0

           4,897

691.8

         11,536

186.9

Non-EU Europe

             406

653.0

           1,284

611.9

           2,641

201.4

Africa

             245

354.2

             863

252.7

           1,658

176.2

North America

           1,198

1799.5

           3,138

1184.2

           6,231

622.8

Latin America

             141

2175.4

             519

1830.4

             905

510.5

Middle East

             535

1358.2

           1,885

545.7

           3,894

253.9

Asia / Pacific

             343

293.7

           1,192

211.9

           2,548

131.8

       

Total

           5,081

848.0

         14,740

565.1

         31,917

236.9

       
       

Air Transport Movements

 Apr 2022

% Change

Jan to
Apr 2022

% Change

May 2021 to
Apr 2022

% Change

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

           2,292

196.5

           8,229

184.4

         22,550

150.8

EU

         15,459

509.3

         43,130

397.3

       107,017

123.6

Non-EU Europe

           3,130

390.6

         10,243

362.4

         22,461

139.2

Africa

           1,198

117.4

           4,490

95.4

         10,078

64.6

North America

           5,885

138.4

         18,318

108.8

         44,316

79.2

Latin America

             625

544.3

           2,482

495.2

           5,222

168.6

Middle East

           2,008

84.9

           7,421

65.0

         19,967

46.5

Asia / Pacific

           1,893

8.5

           8,304

18.7

         24,273

15.1

Total

         32,490

228.3

       102,617

179.1

       255,884

91.3

       
       
       

Cargo
(Metric Tonnes)

 Apr 2022

% Change

Jan to
Apr 2022

% Change

May 2021 to
Apr 2022

% Change

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

               12

116.8

               32

-49.1

             189

16.3

EU

           8,001

-22.6

         37,019

-6.2

       118,749

27.2

Non-EU Europe

           3,201

-42.9

         13,246

-41.2

         58,338

-0.1

Africa

           7,002

7.2

         30,365

4.2

         78,806

3.2

North America

         48,635

17.2

       184,516

27.0

       520,957

36.0

Latin America

           3,331

188.8

         12,296

180.5

         31,403

17.8

Middle East

         19,237

2.9

         71,086

-0.6

       228,171

5.7

Asia / Pacific

         23,408

-28.3

       112,808

-9.1

       391,211

14.1

Total

       112,828

-3.1

       461,367

5.7

    1,427,824

19.3