Heathrow April Passenger Numbers Break Record

London’s Heathrow Airport reported record passenger numbers for April as the Easter holiday boosted traffic.

Heathrow saw 6.7 million people pass through its terminals, an 11.3 percent increase from the same month in 2016.

Aircraft movements edged down 0.1 percent as airlines added capacity by using larger jets. New York and Dubai were the two most popular destinations from the UK’s busiest airport.

In regional terms, the Middle East saw the biggest growth in passenger numbers, up 21.7 percent, with Latin America second on 14.1 percent, and Europe third with a 10.9 percent increase.

In passenger numbers, 2.83 million people used European flights, 1.51 million North American, and 931,000 flew to and from Asia Pacific.

Cargo traffic was also up during April, with 137,979 metric tonnes shipped through the airport.

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said “Heathrow had a bumper April – growth in 2017 has been faster than most expected, reinforcing the need for more capacity at the nation’s hub.

“Britain’s exports outside the EU are thriving and with Heathrow expansion opening up to 40 new long-haul trading links, the scale of the opportunity across the globe is tremendous,” he added.

A UK airport commission backed Heathrow for expansion, with the government last year approving construction of a third runway. The airport, west of London, is operating at virtually maximum capacity with traffic growth only possible as airlines use larger aircraft, especially the Airbus A380.