Heathrow currently has more daily flights than ever before between the UK and USA as airlines switch capacity to North Atlantic routes.
Heathrow Airport has increased its lead over the European Union (EU) rivals for flight connections to the United States.
London’s air hub currently has more daily flights than ever before between the UK and USA as airlines switch capacity to North Atlantic routes and away from European and East Asian markets, which have been slower to recover.
The triple bank holiday in May, helped drive monthly passengers at Heathrow up to 6.7 million. with 1.6 million Heathrow passengers flying across the North Atlantic in May alone.
Heathrow has also successfully managed eight days of strikes during the busiest days in May, with no delays at security and no flight cancellations thanks to a strong contingency resource. The airport has been building that contingency team ahead of the summer season and does not anticipate cancellations as a result of any future strike action.
One in four passengers flying between the USA and Europe in May passed through Heathrow thanks to the choice of destinations and frequency. 248 daily flights to and from Heathrow now connect Britain to 31 US destinations, building trade links with the UK’s most important export market. As well as having more flights to New York than any European hub (over 30 daily departures), Heathrow is the only hub with a direct flight to Cincinnati.
The benefits this brings through trade and tourism demonstrate that Heathrow remains critically important as the UK’s gateway to the world.
Heathrow would also like to see the UK Government reinstating Tax Free Shopping to let British businesses and the UK economy maximize the benefits from recovering markets, instead of losing out to neighbors in France, Italy and Spain, where visitors currently spend more than double, they do in the United Kingdom.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “The unrivalled choice of destinations and high frequency to cities like New York make flights from Heathrow vital trade routes with the USA, Britain’s most important export market. We have delivered excellent service to passengers, with no cancellations, over eight days of strikes on the busiest days in May, and do not anticipate cancellations as a result of strikes during the summer holiday getaway.”
