Record breaking service paves way for expanded Heathrow - results for year ended 31 Dec 2025

UK’s hub flying high with record passenger numbers: 2025 was Heathrow’s busiest year to date, with colleagues welcoming over 84.5 million passengers, securing our position as Europe’s busiest hub airport. Further incremental growth is forecast for 2026, with the airport on track for an uplift to 85 million passengers. Demand continues to outpace the limits of the airport’s current infrastructure reinforcing the need for expansion.  

Operational performance outpaces European competitors: Heathrow was crowned the most punctual hub in Europe in 2025, consistently outperforming all major hub airports. Over 4.2 million more passengers flew on time compared with 2024 and baggage and security performance continued to strengthen. 97.3% of passengers waited less than five minutes for security and baggage load rates were close to 99% resulting in smoother, more reliable journeys for passengers.  

Investment unlocked for 2026: £1.3 billion will be spent over the coming year in capital investment programmes. This will kickstart work to revamp Terminal 4 (‘T4’), progress with the new baggage system design for Terminal 2 (‘T2’) and drive improvements to services for passengers with accessibility needs, all of which will contribute towards making Heathrow more user-friendly and resilient for our customers. 

Expanding Heathrow: Expansion at Heathrow is the Government’s flagship infrastructure project to drive long-term economic growth and shareholders recently approved new investment to begin work on the planning application, marking a significant step forward for the project. However, delivering the project remains complex. It can only proceed once the necessary regulatory and policy frameworks are firmly in place to enable the next phase of delivery. To deliver the full benefits to customers and the country and to ensure it is fully privately financed, the Civil Aviation Authority (‘CAA’) must put in place the framework that gives investors confidence. Decisions on these key issues are expected throughout 2026. This includes in the autumn when Parliament will be asked to vote on the final Airports National Policy Statement (‘ANPS’) - a decision which will enable Development Consent Order (‘DCO’) approval by 2029. The first flights from a third runway could be in a decade. 

Financial performance: Heathrow reported increased revenue of £3.6 billion but a flat adjusted EBITDA of £2.0 billion, as the benefit of higher passenger numbers was offset by lower airport charges set by the CAA, increased maintenance costs and the expenditure needed to support operational performance. Our improved workforce planning has made a positive impact on employment costs, however maintaining the ageing asset base is demanding an increased spend. We continue to maintain a strong financial position with liquidity of £2.9 billion. Heathrow’s Board decided to pay dividends totalling £550 million to the ultimate shareholders during the financial year, the first time in 5 years.

Sustainability: Progress continues towards our sustainability commitments. In 2025, we stepped up our industry-leading SAF incentive programme, with record amounts of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (‘SAF’) used at Heathrow. Our 2026 goal looks to go further, with the aim to reach 2% above the UK mandate - totalling 5.6% SAF usage at the airport. We launched our Resources and Waste Strategy, setting clear targets to increase recycling and reduce waste across the airport and we continued to implement our Noise Action Plan, reducing the impacts of night flights and providing noise insulation to local homes.

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said:

"Last year everyone at Heathrow rallied behind our ambition to deliver exceptional operational performance for our customers. Not only did we meet that goal, we surpassed it and achieved record‑breaking service levels. With strong foundations in place and with the airport now operating very close to capacity, the next chapter is crucial to our success. Expansion will unlock significant economic benefits and create an extraordinary airport, fit for the future. In 2026, we'll continue progressing our plans so we can deliver for both our customers and for the country."