Heathrow welcomed 6.69 million passengers last month, a record for December, bringing its total traffic for 2023 to just over 79 million.
The annual figure is surpassed only by 2018 (80.1 million) and 2019 (80.9 million). and represents an increase of about 17.5 million in annual traffic by 2022.
The airport's T5 also recorded its busiest year since the terminal opened in 2008, surpassing 33 million passengers, including 2.6 million in December.
Friday 22 December was the busiest day over the festive period, with around 250,000 customers traveling through Heathrow, and Christmas Day was also the busiest day at the airport, with almost 800 flights arriving and departing .
A total of 24 routes recorded more than one million passengers last year, with New York JFK topping the list with more than three million.
The others (in descending order) were: Dubai (DXB), Qatar (DOH), Dublin (DUB), Los Angeles (LAX), Madrid (MAD), Amsterdam (AMS), Frankfurt (FRA), Delhi (DEL), Istanbul (IST), Munich (MUC), Hong Kong (HKG), Toronto (YYZ), Singapore (SIN), Zurich (ZRH), Mumbai (BOM), Chicago (ORD), California (SFO), Paris (CDG) , New Jersey (EWR), Edinburgh (EDI), Lisbon (LIS), Boston (BOS) and Geneva (GVA).
December was the second month of 2023 in which traffic figures exceeded 2019 pre-pandemic levels, following September, when the airport welcomed 7,075,530 passengers.
Heathrow sees record passenger numbers in September
Commenting on traffic figures, Heathrow's newly appointed CEO Thomas Woldbyesaying:
“As we move into the new year, I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of our Team Heathrow colleagues and partners for their hard and successful work during the busy festive period, which went very well in terms of service and operations.
“Ending 2023 on a high lays a strong foundation for 2024, during which Heathrow will continue to grow and enable the UK’s potential for global growth.”
Last month, Heathrow announced a six-year project to build a new dedicated baggage system at its Terminal 2, which will replace the 30-year-old system located inside the airport's T1 (which closed to passengers in 2015).
Heathrow reveals plans for new baggage system at Terminal 2
heathrow.com
