Traffic and business commentary January 2015

07.00 11 February 2015

Heathrow traffic and business commentary January 2015

· Heathrow saw its busiest ever January with a record 5.45 million passengers travelling through the airport's terminals, an increase of 1.3% on January 2014

· Larger, fuller, quieter aircraft at Heathrow continued to be a driver for passenger growth. Seats per aircraft increased 2.0% to 209.0, while load factors increased 0.2 percentage points to 70.7%. Passengers per aircraft rose 2.2% to 147.7

· Within emerging markets, passenger volumes were particularly strong to Latin America - with Mexico increasing 17.9% and Brazil 4.7%. The Middle East & Central Asia also saw growth of 4.9% and passenger volumes to China grew 2.0%

· Heathrow continued to welcome an increasing number of the transfer passengers that make such long-haul routes viable, with year-on-year volumes up 4.3%

· Cargo volumes recorded growth of 3.3% overall, including increases of 54.0% to Mexico, 28.6% to Brazil, 11.3% to India, and 11.2% to Turkey

· Heathrow unveiled a £700 million enhanced noise insulation offer for local residents if the Government grants planning approval for Heathrow expansion. Shaped by feedback from a local public consultation, the offer is the only privately-funded of its kind and brings Heathrow in-line with other European hub airports

· Major low-cost carrier easyJet declared its support for Heathrow expansion, citing it was in the best interests of its passengers, the airline and the UK economy

· The independent 'Back Heathrow' campaign celebrated its 80,000th supporter as it delivered its consultation response to Airports Commission in Westminster

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: