Heathrow Regains the Title of Europe's Busiest Airport

DALLAS - London Heathrow (LHR) has once again been crowned as Europe's busiest airport according to its latest passenger figures.

Just a year ago, LHR had been relegated to Europe's tenth busiest but went on to grow more than any other airport in the continent.

Between July and September, the airport handled 5.8 million passengers, overtaking its closest rivals of Amsterdam (AMS), Paris (CDG) and Frankfurt (FRA). The numbers, however, remain 15% down on pre-pandemic levels.

Heathrow's Terminal Five is home to the airports biggest operator British Airways (BA). Photo: Heathrow Airport.

Future Uncertainty

In a statement, LHR boss John Holland-Kaye said, "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 U.K.'s hub airport as soon as possible."

"I am proud of the way our team has worked with airlines and their ground handlers to get 18 million passengers successfully away over summer," he added.

However, Mr Holland-Kay also warned that there is still much uncertainty over future demand due to "growing economic headwinds, a new wave of Covid and the escalating situation in Ukraine."

Daily Passenger Cap

The growth comes despite LHR introducing a controversial daily passenger cap of 100,000 passengers back in July. This was implemented as the airport, and countless others battled various challenges, including staffing shortages, massive queues and flight cancellations.

On Tuesday, October 11, management revealed that they would finally lift the cap at the end of October. When the cap is lifted, LHR has said that it is working with its airline partners to develop strategies that "protects passenger service during peak periods."

Featured Image: Heathrow Airport welcomed 5.8 million passengers through its terminals from July to September. Photo: Heathrow Airport.