Inflation, economic difficulties and war in Ukraine are clouding the short-term outlook for theLondon Heathrow airport. These were the key statements made by the authorities of Europe's leading platform when they presented their results for the first three quarters of 2022.
Yes, of course, the airport has returned to a high growth rate, the highest in Europe. With 44.2 million passengers between January and September 2022growth was 335% compared with 2021. This is far more than Paris CDG (+162%), Schiphol (+150%), Madrid (+147%) and Frankfurt (+127%). This exceptional performance...
Inflation, economic difficulties and war in Ukraine are clouding the short-term outlook for theLondon Heathrow airport. These were the key statements made by the authorities of Europe's leading platform when they presented their results for the first three quarters of 2022.
Yes, of course, the airport has returned to a high growth rate, the highest in Europe. With 44.2 million passengers between January and September 2022growth was 335% compared with 2021. This is far more than Paris CDG (+162%), Schiphol (+150%), Madrid (+147%) and Frankfurt (+127%). This exceptional performance was also due to the fact that the United Kingdom completely reopened its borders much later than the European Union. Hence the difference of 150 percentage points.
More than 60 million passengers by 2022?
Heathrow authorities are now planning to between 60 and 62 million passengers by 2022or approximately 25 % less than in 2019. For the first nine months, traffic levels reached 73% of the same period in 2019. Traffic to Europe reached 75% of its 2019 level. However, it is Latin America that is performing best. Passenger traffic for the first three quarters of 2022 is already 19% higher than in 2019...A return to 2019 figures is therefore not expected before 2024.. In 2019, Heathrow recorded almost 81 million passengers.
The airport authority blames the global economic crisis, the war in Ukraine, inflation with soaring commodity prices and reminiscences of Covid-19. " It is unlikely that we will see a return to pre-pandemic demand for several years, except at peak times." said the airport authority in a press release.
The company has also seen a drop in passenger satisfaction levels. Le chaos at UK airports This summer's security and baggage checks have had a negative impact on the perception of the airport. Heathrow says it is working with all those involved in the hub's traffic to recruit 25,000 security-cleared staff, which represents a huge logistical challenge. The airport is setting up a recruitment task force to help fill the vacancies.
Finally, some more good news: On 30 October, the airport lifted the 100,000-passenger/day limit introduced during the summer to manage traffic flows..
