Heathrow traffic and business commentary

Embargoed until 07.00 on 10 September 2015

Heathrow traffic and business commentary August 2015

August was Heathrow's busiest ever month

· Heathrow experienced its busiest ever month in August, with 7.33 million passengers passing through the airport, up 4% on the same month last year. The 2nd of August was the busiest day ever with 257,312 passengers choosing the UK's only hub, whilst August 2015 was a record for arrivals, with 3.75 million passengers landing at the airport.

· Larger, quieter, fuller aircraft continued to be a key driver for growth. Seats per aircraft increased 2.3% on August 2014 to an average of 209.8, whilst load factors increased 0.4% to an average of 84%.

· Transfer volumes remained consistent with the same month last year, up a marginal 0.1%.

· Within the emerging markets, cargo volumes were up 8.6% to China, 11.3% to Mexico and 36.9% to Turkey on the previous August.

· The figures come as new polling by Populus shows 50% of residents in 12 local consistencies to Heathrow support expansion, whilst 33% oppose. 57% of those residents feel positive about Heathrow while only 8% have a negative feeling.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:

 "With more local residents supporting Heathrow than opposing it, and with the backing of the Airports Commission, airlines, trade unions and businesses across the country, Heathrow expansion is the right and deliverable solution for the whole of the UK. Every month that we delay is costing our economy £1bn. The Prime Minister has a mandate to give Heathrow the green light - let's get on with it."