London Heathrow Airport raised its forecast for passenger traffic this year as the U.K. hub processed record numbers of travelers during the peak summer season.
Heathrow now expects a total of 83.8 million passengers to pass through its doors in 2024, up from a previous prediction of 82.8 million, it said on Wednesday while releasing third-quarter results.
The summer was the busiest period ever with more than 30 million passengers flying through Heathrow between June and September, according to the airport. There was also a surge in late summer flights because of music artists appearing in concerts, attracting people to the capital, the airport said.
Among major performers in London this summer was singer Taylor Swift.
“We were seeing passengers traveling through Heathrow for all kinds of reasons, whether to see their families and friends, for holidays or for business trips and also to see Taylor Swift and going to Paris for the Olympics,” Chief Financial Officer Sally Ding said in an interview.
Higher volumes of passengers in the nine months to end of September were driven by a rise in commercial flights and load factors. Apart from Africa and Latin America, all markets this year beat passenger traffic levels in 2023. The U.K. and Asia Pacific region had a double-digit increase in market growth despite carriers including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways axing some China routes.
These airlines are redeploying the slots for other profitable long-haul routes while Chinese carriers pick up the extra passengers, meaning there was no negative impact on Heathrow, Ding said.
The hub previously bumped its passenger forecast up from 82.4 million to 82.8 million in June. The company said no dividends are currently forecast for 2024, “although it is probable subject to financial performance.”
