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Heathrow airport has said that 2024 was its busiest year for passenger numbers.
Some 83.9 million passengers travelled through the west London airport’s terminals last year. That is 4.7 million more than in 2023 and 3 million more than the previous annual record, set in 2019.
Heathrow, the most connected airport in the entire world according to the Moodie Davitt Report, said it forecasts it will serve 84.2 million passengers in 2025.
It added that it will be investing “over £1 billion again this year to make the airport fit for the future”. Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said “2024 was an exciting and a record-breaking year at Heathrow” and pledged to continue pushing to deliver services “for the whole of the UK”.
Additionally, Stansted airport had their own record December and 2024 overall, with 2.23 million passengers in the final month of the year contributing to a new high of 29.76 million across the year as a whole.
Gareth Powell, Stansted’s managing director, said: “It was a fantastic year for London Stansted in 2024 and I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished. Welcoming a record-breaking 29.76 million passengers is great testament to the dedication of our team and the continued trust of our passengers and partners in the airport.”
Along with a busiest year overall, December was a new high for the airport, with 7 million travellers flowing through – more than five per cent up on a year earlier. A record 160,000 people travelled on Christmas Day.
New York, Los Angeles, Dublin and Madrid are the top destinations for flyers from Heathrow by volume of traffic, though over 4.6m people flew to within the UK from Heathrow as their first port of call.
Heathrow has already pledged over £2 billion to upgrade across the next two years,
“I’m proud of all my colleagues and our partners who worked so hard to deliver great experiences for more passengers than ever before,” Woldbye added.
“In 2025, our journey towards better value for our customers will continue by investing in the kind of facilities our passengers and airlines are looking for. We aim to become more innovative to ensure that our airport delivers for the whole of the UK.”
Additional reporting by PA
