Heathrow airport has said it remains loss-making despite having some of its busiest days on record during the first half of the year as travel demand continued to bounce back from the Covid crisis.
More than 37 million passengers travelled through Europe’s busiest airport in the six months to the end of June, a 42% increase compared with a year earlier.
The airport said overall passenger numbers remained below the levels seen before the pandemic, and the cost of living crisis could affect demand for international travel in the second half of the year.
Heathrow made an adjusted pre-tax loss of £139m for the six months to 30 June, which represents a halving of its losses from a year earlier.
It says the level at which the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has set the annual cap on how much airlines can be charged for using the airport has prevented it from increasing its earnings.
The CAA is responsible for setting the amount Heathrow can charge each carrier. Current levels mean the average maximum per-passenger fee remains at £31.57 this year and then will drop to £25.43 in 2024 and remain broadly flat until the end of 2026.
Heathrow described the cap as too low and said it had appealed against the CAA’s decision to the Competition and Markets Authority, the competition watchdog.
The company said it did not expect to pay any dividends to shareholders in 2023 because of its losses.
Long-running strike action by security staff belonging to the Unite union ended last month after the workers voted to accept an improved pay offer.
After this, the airport said it had ironed out lengthy queues at security checks, and almost all passengers have had to wait less than five minutes at security as the peak summer holiday period begins.
The airport is now handling flights to 225 destinations as airlines are adding more routes and increasing the number of services after the pandemic.
Heathrow’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, who is stepping down after nine years in the role, said: “The summer getaway has got off to a great start, thanks to planning and close collaboration with airlines and their ground handlers.”
Thomas Woldbye, who has run Copenhagen airport for the last 12 years, has been appointed as Heathrow’s new chief executive and will take over from Holland-Kaye on 1 October.
