Heathrow Airport warns on demand outlook for travel

Britain’s biggest airport Heathrow warned that the demand outlook for the coming winter was uncertain given the growing economic headwinds plus the impact of a new wave of COVID-19 and the escalating situation in Ukraine.

Heathrow, situated west of London, said while it expected peak Christmas days to be very busy, the overall outlook was uncertain. Britons face a squeeze on their leisure spending due to rising inflation and higher household bills.

During September, Heathrow said 5.8 million passengers passed through the airport, 15 per cent below levels seen in 2019, showing that travel was recovering from pandemic lows but was held back by a cap on departures introduced by the airport to cope with labour shortages and congestion.

The airport is due to remove the 100,000 daily cap at the end of October.