61.6 million travelers used Heathrow in 2022.
With 61.6 million people passing through the airport during the year, Heathrow’s 2022 traffic ended up being 76.6% higher than it was in the year before the influenza epidemic.
In addition, the number was 42.2 million greater than it was in 2021, according to the airport, making it the airport in Europe with the biggest rise in passengers.
With New York JFK being the biggest route, the airport saw more than 5.9 million passengers in December, an increase of 90% over the same time in 2021.
Despite UK Border Force’s strike, Heathrow reported that 92% of passengers through security at the Christmas peak in less than ten minutes.
According to CEO John Holland-Kaye, “2022 finished on a high with our busiest Christmas in three years and a seamless and efficient service for passengers, thanks to the hard work of our team and tight preparation with airlines, their ground handlers, and Border Force.”
In response to rising Covid levels in China, the London hub stated that it was still “concerned that the recovery of the aviation sector, which is critical to the economy, could be set back by the reintroduction of testing for travelers in the UK and elsewhere, even though governments acknowledge there is no scientific basis for doing so.”
Virgin Atlantic criticized Heathrow’s forecast for 2023 passenger volume, calling it “pessimistic” and noting that the airport had “a poor track record of forecasting, having projected just 45 million annual passengers for 2022” in its airport charges consultation document published in August of last year.
