Heathrow records record May
The Royal Wedding last month led to a surge in passengers at Heathrow Airport in May, with 6.7 million passengers passing through it (+3.1%) as wedding watchers from the US travelling to nearby Windsor pushed up passenger numbers 5% on North American flights.
Domestic flights also saw an uplift, boosted 5.5% as more passengers filled flights to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Leeds.
In addition, over 144,000 metric tonnes of cargo passed through Heathrow in May, the 22nd consecutive month of record growth at the UK’s largest port by value for non-EU trade. Long-haul markets were the fastest growing markets for cargo, with Japan (28%) and Brazil (33%).
Heathrow welcomed the arrival of new direct services to the cities of Wuhan and Sanya, operated by China Southern. The airport’s connection to Sanya is a first for Europe. The routes will allow for 6,000 metric tonnes of additional cargo capacity and over 110,000 new seats for passengers annually.