Heathrow handled 74 per cent more passengers in July than in
the previous year, the company has announced.
More than 1.5 million travellers passed through its
terminals during the month, the highest monthly passenger numbers since March 2020.
North American passenger numbers grew by nearly 230 per cent
year-on-year, and New York JFK reclaimed the top spot as Heathrow’s most
popular route, it said. These figures will get a boost this week with the
first JetBlue services due to arrive on Thursday morning.
Despite signs of recovery, passenger numbers are still down
over 80 per cent on pre-pandemic July 2019, as barriers to travel remain.
Heathrow chief operating officer, Emma Gilthorpe, said:
“Finally, some blue skies are on the horizon, as travel and trade routes slowly
reopen. The job though is far from complete. Government must now capitalise on
the vaccine dividend and seize the opportunity to replace expensive PCR tests
with more affordable lateral flow tests.”