In September, about 5,8 million passengers passed through Heathrow, which was 15% below 2019 levels.
LHR has recorded the busiest summer season of any European hub airport.
As passenger demand started to exceed capacity at the beginning of July, its passenger service levels dipped but then improved after its departing passenger cap was introduced to keep supply and demand in balance.
According to an airport press release, this resulted in most passengers travelling through the airport having “a very good experience”. It said, with growing economic headwinds, a new wave of COVID and the situation in Ukraine, that the demand outlook remained uncertain but that peak Christmas days were expected to be very busy.
“Resource levels across the airport, airlines and their ground handlers have been increasing. We are working with our airline partners to develop a more targeted mechanism, which protects passenger service during peak periods,” it said.
The airport’s focus over the next 12 months will be to get capacity service levels and resilience back to the high pre-pandemic levels.
CEO, John Holland-Kaye, said: “I’m proud of the way our team has worked with airlines and their ground handlers to get 18 million passengers successfully away this summer. Our aim is to get back to full capacity and the world-class service people should expect from the UK’s hub airport as soon as possible.”
