Heathrow Airport – the busiest day of the year

London – Just a few days ago, Heathrow Airport announced that the 30th of last month, Good Friday, was the busiest day in its history. On that day, a record number of 136,000 passengers walked through its 152 gates and flew from Heathrow Airport. This trend, however, is not new. This is the 17^th consecutive month that Heathrow Airport has continued to break the records of increased traffic. This has consolidated the airport’s position as a hub and a bridge between North America and the rest of the world.

The heavy traffic is due to the airport’s heavy campaigning in emerging markets like Africa and Asia. There is a 12% rise in flights, passengers and cargo from Africa and an 11% increase in business from Middle Eastern markets. Latin America has also favoured Heathrow Airport as a global transit hub and Latin customers have increased by 7.3%.

The busiest day in the airport’s history is also due to the fact that Londoners yearned for relaxation on the long weekend. The long bank holiday meant that families could finally get some quality time together. The quality service provided by the Heathrow Airport is part of the vacation, as the airport’s terminal 2 has just been given the award as the ‘World’s Best Airport Terminal’ in 2018 by Skytrax World Airport Awards.

The Chinese factor also plays a part. China’s economic growth has fueled its airline industry. China-based airlines like Hainan Airlines and Tianjin Airlines have added new routes to the UK. Chinese Airlines tend to land at Heathrow more often and connect destination like Changsha and X’ian with London.

The cargo through Heathrow has also seen an increase. The airport’s cargo service is already at its peak, therefore, additional steps were taken to accommodate the 1.5% increase in cargo traffic. It was reported that over 150,000 tonnes of luggage and cargo were flown thrown the airport in just March 2018 alone. Most of the cargo destinations were in the USA and Japan.

In a press release the Heathrow Airport chief executive, John Holland-Kaye said,

“The booming growth in passenger numbers and cargo, particularly from emerging markets, underpins the urgency to secure Britain’s economic future with a third runway at Heathrow.”

The UK parliament’s Transport Select Committee seems to concur with his statement and just a few weeks ago approved the construction of an additional runway for the airport and expanding its current facilities.

For the British, especially for the Londoners, this is only great news. The world’s best and busiest airport is right on their doorstep and it brings the world a little bit closer every time a flight lands at Heathrow.