Heathrow Airport has released its March results which are highlighted by the largest growth in monthly air cargo in five years.
The recent results obtained by Heathrow demonstrate the key role that the airport plays in the British trade. In March, the air cargo transportation beat a new record, thus making it the month with the largest growth in over 5 years. The increase in volume was 13%, that is, 148 thousand tons. These figures make Heathrow one of the main ports of England as it handles more than 30% of the exports outside from the European Union for a higher value than all the UK airports combined.
This new record comes from emerging markets. In March, Mexico (+ 28%) Brazil (+ 13%), India (+ 9%) and China (+ 5%) were the countries with the highest growth rates. However, Indonesia experienced an exponential growth (more than 9,000%) after Garuda Indonesia Airlines moved to Heathrow from Gatwick, and started operations in 2016.
China is also expected to bring major export opportunities, as China Southern has confirmed, it will double air cargo capacity when it launches an additional service to Guangzhou in June, one of the most strategic routes for the UK.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:
“Surging trade, more domestic connections and more long-haul growth are the bedrock of the UK’s economy. According to John, today’s figures put Britain in a strong position as the Government begins Brexit negotiations and underline the unique role Heathrow plays as the nation’s global gateway.”
He added, “our expansion plans will give Britain the tools to do even better. We’ll double our domestic connections and add up to 40 new long-haul trading links, making the UK the best connected country on earth”.
