Heathrow flies to busiest first half ever in 2018, with strong passenger satisfaction scores pushed up demand to fly from the UK’s hub to an all-time high of 38.1 million passengers (+2.5%), with growth across all markets. Four new connections to China in 2018 helped trade through Heathrow grow 2.2% to 841,449 tonnes of cargo.
As the summer getaway gets into full-swing, passengers are spending more in Heathrow’s shops pushing retail growth 4.8% higher. Strong retail spend helps support lower airport charges which fell around 1%. Strong retail sales and continued passenger growth pushed revenues up 2.3% to £1,405 million and increased Adjusted EBITDA by 1.6% to £848 million. Heathrow continues to invest responsibly in improving the passenger experience, with operating costs increasing slightly after investments to boost resilience, security and service.
