Heathrow increases lead over EU rivals for flight connections to the USA picture

Heathrow increases lead over EU rivals for flight connections to the USA

12 June, 2023

Heathrow increases lead over EU rivals for flight connections to the USA

  • The triple bank holiday in May, helped drive monthly passengers at Heathrow up to 6.7 million
  • Heathrow currently has more daily flights than ever before between the UK and USA as airlines switch capacity to North Atlantic routes and away from European and East Asian markets, which have been slower to recover
  • In May alone 1.6m Heathrow passengers flew across the North Atlantic. One in four passengers flying between the USA and Europe in May passed through Heathrow thanks to the choice of destinations and frequency. 248 daily flights to and from Heathrow now connect Britain to 31 US destinations, building trade links with the UK’s most important export market. As well as having more flights to New York than any European hub (over 30 daily departures), Heathrow is the only hub with a direct flight to Cincinnati
  • The benefits this brings through trade and tourism demonstrate that Heathrow remains critically important as the UK’s gateway to the world
  • Government must reinstate Tax Free Shopping to let British businesses and the UK economy maximise the benefits from recovering markets, instead of losing out to neighbours in France, Italy and Spain, where visitors currently spend more than double they do here
  • Heathrow has successfully managed eight days of strikes during the busiest days in May, with no delays at security and no flight cancellations thanks to a strong contingency resource. We have been building that contingency team ahead of the summer season and do not anticipate cancellations as a result of any future strike action

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “The unrivalled choice of destinations and high frequency to cities like New York make flights from Heathrow vital trade routes with the USA, Britain’s most important export market. We have delivered excellent service to passengers, with no cancellations, over eight days of strikes on the busiest days in May, and do not anticipate cancellations as a result of strikes during the summer holiday getaway.”

 

Traffic Summary

     
       

May 2023

     
       

Terminal Passengers
(000s)

 May 2023

% Change

Jan to
May 2023

% Change

Jun 2022 to
May 2023

% Change

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

          371

14.2

       1,711

32.9

        3,779

38.5

EU

       2,276

14.0

       9,829

42.6

      24,236

82.6

Non-EU Europe

          409

11.3

       2,084

26.2

        4,880

65.2

Africa

          284

24.9

       1,493

37.0

        3,283

79.2

North America

       1,879

34.0

       7,313

61.1

      18,172

140.8

Latin America

          167

21.3

          867

32.0

        1,934

87.1

Middle East

          606

14.6

       3,085

27.8

        7,617

74.2

Asia / Pacific

          736

106.3

       3,650

135.8

        7,650

169.2

       

Total

       6,727

25.9

     30,033

49.6

      71,550

95.6

       
       

Air Transport Movements

 May 2023

% Change

Jan to
May 2023

% Change

Jun 2022 to
May 2023

% Change

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

       2,826

2.2

     13,197

20.0

      29,329

21.2

EU

     17,182

5.4

     77,192

29.9

     183,847

53.3

Non-EU Europe

       3,236

8.6

     16,401

24.0

      36,996

49.5

Africa

       1,284

4.9

       6,648

16.3

      14,501

34.9

North America

       8,325

18.4

     35,836

41.4

      84,682

73.5

Latin America

          732

17.1

       3,733

20.1

        8,210

44.0

Middle East

       2,553

18.5

     12,117

26.5

      28,106

34.0

Asia / Pacific

       3,350

63.9

     15,746

52.2

      34,310

39.0

       

Total

     39,488

12.4

   180,870

31.3

     419,981

50.1

       
       

Cargo (Metric Tonnes)

 May 2023

% Change

Jan to
May 2023

% Change

Jun 2022 to
May 2023

% Change

Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

            18

-59.3

          211

0.3

           408

-38.0

EU

       7,763

-16.4

     38,298

-21.0

      96,424

-21.5

Non-EU Europe

       3,451

3.9

     15,850

-10.2

      40,152

-33.3

Africa

       6,531

-10.8

     31,488

-17.1

      74,210

-8.1

North America

     39,545

-15.7

   215,277

-9.4

     534,279

-1.9

Latin America

       4,373

18.7

     19,989

24.3

      47,456

41.2

Middle East

     21,500

6.4

     99,585

7.2

     245,254

5.1

Asia / Pacific

     29,181

6.4

   127,296

-11.7

     314,732

-21.3

       

Total

    112,363

-4.9

   547,994

-7.9

  1,352,916

-8.3