Heathrow hits historic high: 8 million passengers and counting in August

• Heathrow made history in August, surpassing 8 million passengers in a single month for the first time
• The milestone achievement positions Heathrow as the first major European hub to exceed the 8 million mark and further cements Heathrow’s critical role as the UK’s gateway to growth
• With record numbers choosing Heathrow this summer, we hit our busiest ever day on 1st August with over 270,000 passengers, we eclipsed our previous record departures and arrivals days and Terminal 5 set a new single-day record on 22nd August - successfully welcoming more than 112,000 travellers
• Despite the unprecedented passenger volumes, we’ve had our strongest summer yet and our service levels remain sky high. Last month 98% of bags travelled on their flights as expected and 96% of passengers waited less than five minutes at security. Heathrow’s punctuality levels also continued to top the league tables, we recorded our most punctual August ever and remained steadfast in our position as Europe’s most punctual major hub.
• This step-change in performance combined with our effective airline partnerships is resulting in clear, tangible benefits for passengers. On the day cancellations across this summer have decreased by over a third compared with the same time last year and passengers travelling without their bags has reduced by 42 percent YoY
• As we're now operating at full capacity to the detriment of UK trade and connectivity, we welcome the Government's commitment to expanding Heathrow. Earlier this summer we submitted our proposal for a 100% privately financed runway that could be operational within a decade and will support the national mission for economic growth

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: “August is set to go down in the history books - Heathrow became the first European airport to handle over eight million passengers in a single month and we achieved that whilst maintaining industry-leading punctuality and service levels. This is an outstanding achievement, made possible by the collective efforts of our colleagues, airline partners and the wider airport community who worked as one to deliver excellent service for our passengers and the UK.”