Passenger numbers at London’s Heathrow airport fell to their lowest level in 50 years as Covid-19 restrictions took their toll, but the operator predicted a bounce back in fortunes this summer.
The airport, located in London’s west, 19.4 million passengers passed through in 2021, adding that numbers were currently 23% behind forecast, but expected to meet its target of 45.5 million this year. It also reported a pre-tax loss of £1.79bn.
“Demand is now starting to recover and we are working closely with airlines to scale-up our operations and reopen Terminal 4 for the summer travel peak,” said chief executive John Holland-Kaye.
“To deliver this, we have outlined an investment plan for the next five years which meets the needs of passengers, drives fast traffic recovery and incentivises investment in a critical national asset, while keeping the increase in ticket prices below 2% despite significantly fewer passengers. I am anxious that the CAA will undercook the investment needed to avoid the return of ‘Heathrow hassle’ with longer queues and delays.”
Heathrow said that while outbound tourism demand had been boosted by the removal of restrictions in Britain, inbound tourism and business travel remained suppressed because of testing in other countries.
It said it did not expect travel to return to pre-pandemic levels until all restrictions had been removed and passengers were confident they would not be reimposed.
