With the publication of its latest traffic figures, the UK's London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has been able to report its strongest January performance since 2020. The British air hub handled well over five million passengers last month, with the Asia-Pacific market seeing a particularly large increase as restrictions were relaxed.

The key figures

The main headline from London Heathrow Airport's latest traffic report was that January 2023 saw it process a grand total of 5.482 million passengers. This represented an increase of 111% compared to the same month last year, and is the highest January total since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago.

In fact, this figure is only 11% down on the 6.099 million passengers that passed through Heathrow in January 2022, so the facility is certainly on the right track. While rising passenger numbers have caused congestion at certain airports in recent times, Heathrow was happy to report that, "in January, 98% of passengers waited less than 10 minutes for security." Its CEO, John Holland-Kaye, stated:

"Heathrow is back to its best, with passenger satisfaction scores meeting or exceeding 2019 levels. We are giving a warm welcome to families over the half-term getaway by delivering excellent service and bringing back the magic of travel."

London Heathrow Airport
Photo: London Heathrow Airport

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Growth across the board

In the statistic shared in its latest traffic report, London Heathrow Airport also took a closer look at which markets have seen the most growth. Top of the pile in this regard was the Asia-Pacific market, which saw 764,000 passengers in January 2023. This was up 181.3% compared to last year, when restrictions were stricter.

Two other markets saw their January passenger traffic more than double year-on-year. For instance, North American traffic out of Heathrow grew by 119.7% to 1.207 million passengers in January 2023. Meanwhile, somewhat closer to home, EU traffic saw a 135% increase, and climbed to 1.623 million last month.

While smaller, all of the airport's other key markets also saw year-on-year passenger growth. The smallest of these concerned the Latin American market, but, at 43.3%, this sector still saw a strong year-on-year uptick as its January passenger figures reached 180,000 this year. In the 12 months ending in January, London Heathrow Airport as a whole served 64.483 million passengers, marking a 202.5% increase.

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Photo: Markus Mainka/Shutterstock

Other reasons to be cheerful

Away from the quantifiable data regarding the airport's passenger traffic, Heathrow also has had plenty of other aspects to smile about of late. For example, it is taking the opportunity during the half-term holiday to trial extended eGate usage in Terminal 5, with children aged 10 and 11 also able to use them. The airport adds:

"We are fully supportive of Border Force’s aspirations to expand the use of eGates to more families and visa holders, assisting with smooth and seamless journeys."

In terms of its network, Heathrow has been particularly receptive to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic's return to mainland China. The airport noted that these routes are not just important in terms of passenger traffic, but also for exported cargo. To top off what has been an extremely positive start to the year, Heathrow also proudly announced that it had been named Travel Weekly's Best UK Airport.

What do you make of Heathrow's January performance? Did you use the UK's busiest airport last month? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

Source: London Heathrow Airport

  • heathrow_17581988126223
    London Heathrow Airport
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    LHR-EGLL
    Country:
    United Kingdom
    CEO:
    John Holland-Kaye
    Passenger Count :
    19,392,178 (2021)
    Runways :
    09L/27R - 3,902m (12,802ft) | 09R/27L - 3,660m (12,008ft)
    Terminals:
    Terminal 2 | Terminal 3 | Terminal 4 | Terminal 5