The outer-London airport said more than 1.5 million travellers passed through its gates in July, a rise of 74%, making it the busiest month since March 2020, just before international travel came to a virtual standstill.
Despite signs of recovery, passenger numbers are still down over 80% on pre-pandemic July 2019, “as barriers to travel remain”, said chief operating officer Emma Gilthorpe.
“Ministers committed to reducing testing costs over three months ago, however, the UK still stands as an outlier with Europe slashing their prices and in some cases, subsiding them.”
The cost of UK tests is now being investigated by the competition watchdog after Health Secretary Sajid Javid complained about “excessive” pricing and “exploitative practices” among PCR Covid test firms.
Holidaymakers have complained of huge prices and poor service from many of the 400-plus firms offering PCR tests. Tests cost about £75 per person on average but prices can reach hundreds.
Gilthorpe said the cost of testing in the UK “remains prohibitive for many” as the industry called for VAT to be scrapped, alongside the use of cheaper lateral flow for low-risk destinations.
“This will keep people safe and will avoid travel becoming the preserve for the wealthy,” she said.
Heathrow also called on Britain and the US to reach an agreement to allow Britons to travel to America. Last month, the government allowed fully vaccinated Britons to travel to medium risk countries without needing to quarantine on return, boosting passenger numbers.
Britain has since early August opened its borders to fully-vaccinated people from the US and European Union.
