Business and traffic commentary October 2019

07.00 11th November 2019

Passenger numbers climb in October as rugby supporters set off for Japan

·; Over 6.9 million passengers travelled through Heathrow during the busiest October on record, as the airport saw 0.5% growth, driven by larger, fuller aircraft.

·; The Middle East (+6.5%) and Africa (+5.9%) and East Asia (+4.9%) were the key markets for passenger growth last month. Virgin's new route to Tel Aviv continued to boost the Middle East. East Asia also saw significant growth driven by British Airways' new route to Kansai and increased load factors on other flights to Japan ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

·; More than 137,000 metric tonnes of cargo travelled through Heathrow in October, with cargo growth led by Ireland (6.8%) the Middle East (+4.2%) and Africa (+2.8).

·; In October, Heathrow released its Q3 results which announced that the airport remained on track for its ninth consecutive year of passenger growth.

·; Heathrow unveiled their first expansion innovation partner, Siemens Digital Logistics. The company will be working with the airport to implement a state-of-the-art centralised tracking system which will become the nerve-centre for expansion, connecting the network of offsite construction hubs across the UK.

·; Aerotel opened in Heathrow Terminal 3 arrivals. The 82 expertly-designed guestrooms provide passengers with a comfortable space to sleep when they land early or late at night.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: "Heathrow continues to deliver for the economy, but we are also making progress on tackling the biggest issue of our time - climate change - by decarbonising the global aviation sector. We are delighted that British Airways has become the first airline in the world to commit to net zero emissions by 2050 and that others are following their lead. The UK government has an opportunity to show real global leadership by making net zero aviation a focus for COP26 in Glasgow in 12 months' time."