Heathrow records busiest April for passenger numbers

Heathrow Airport said last month was its busiest April on record, as it served nearly 7.1 million passengers.

That is up 5.9% compared with April 2024.

The increase was partially driven by the timing of Easter this year.

The west London airport said this year it has recorded the “highest departure punctuality out of the major European hubs”, 99% of bags travelled on the planned flights, and 97% of passengers waited less than five minutes at security.

Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: “Last month showed Heathrow at its very best – we successfully navigated our busiest April ever whilst our service levels took a further leap forward.

“We’re providing great value for our passengers and I’m proud of what we’ve achieved in collaboration with our Team Heathrow partners so far this year.

“We’re now firmly focused on the busy summer ahead and work is under way across the airport to ensure we continue delivering for our customers.”

Some airlines which use Heathrow have branded the airport the most expensive in the world for passenger charges.

Last week, an interim report by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) found power was restored to Heathrow’s terminals seven hours before flights resumed on March 21, when the airport was closed because of a substation fire.

The flow of electricity to the buildings was restarted by 10.56am but flights did not resume until approximately 6pm.

Neso said power was restored to the “wider Heathrow Airport Limited network” by 2.23pm, which was followed by “a period of safety checking”.

Heathrow Airport said the report raised “important questions”, such as how the fire started.