Heathrow achieves a record-breaking summer, providing millions with holiday getaways

Andrea Thompson

ByAndrea Thompson

September 11, 2024

In August, Heathrow welcomed almost 8m passengers in its fourth consecutive record-breaking month this summer, meaning the airport served 82.6m passengers in the last 12 months and is on-track to welcome 30m passengers between June and September – a first ever for the UK’s hub

History was made at Heathrow on Sunday 18th August when 269k passengers passed through the airport on its busiest day ever, with last month also seeing a record 13 days with over 260k passengers and its busiest week ever (13 – 19 August) with 1.8m passengers

Heathrow surpassed 1 million tonnes of cargo processed so far this year on Sunday 25th August, a milestone reached a month earlier than in 2023, reinforcing the airport’s position as the UK’s hub for international trade

Departing passengers remained consistently over 130k daily for most of August, with Spain, Greece, Italy and Turkey proving popular summer break destinations for thousands of sunseekers last month

Heathrow’s preparation for record-breaking passenger numbers was reflected in high service levels being maintained throughout the summer, with hundreds of ‘Heathrow Helpers’ and specialist resilience teams deployed to ensure millions had smooth journeys

Taylor Swift concerts brought in an additional 40k passengers this summer, with thousands of Swifties passing through Heathrow for the European leg of her Eras Tour

Holiday goers enjoyed perusing Heathrow’s huge selection of 275 shops and 75 restaurants, with passengers fuelling up for their journeys on a staggering 950,749 Pret coffees sold across all terminals in July and August

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: “I’m grateful to Team Heathrow for their preparation and dedication to delivering an extraordinary getaway for more passengers than ever before, maintaining strong service levels during what has been our busiest summer. For the past four months we have broken several new records, demonstrating our ability to open a world of opportunity for more people, cargo, business and the UK economy.”