Heathrow reclaims top spot as Europe’s busiest airport, data finds

Heathrow airport has reclaimed its title of the busiest airport in Europe after Covid travel restrictions had seen it slip to 10th place just one year ago.

The latest data from the airport reports it handled 5.8m passengers in September 2022, putting it ahead of major European airports like Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

This impressive growth took place while Heathrow continued a 100,000 passengers per day cap brought in in July after a string of last minute cancellations that damaged its reputation and credibility among airlines.

The airport was struggling at the time to deal with the throughput of passengers during the busy summer months and a lack of staff following the peak of the Covid pandemic.

However, the 5.8m passenger figure achieved last month is still 15% below pre-pandemic levels with the airport saying its main goal remains to return customer numbers back to their 2019 baseline.

John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow chief executive, said: “Heathrow has grown more in the past 12 months than any airport in Europe and we’ve delivered a great passenger experience to the vast majority of travellers.”

He added: “While we face many economic headwinds, as well as the legacy of Covid, our aim is to get back to full capacity and the world class service people should expect from the UK’s hub airport as soon as possible.”

The cap on passenger numbers at the airport is due to expire on October 2.

But Heathrow has said: “We are working with our airline partners to develop a more targeted mechanism, which protects passenger service during peak periods.”