Heathrow lands strong performance during the first half of 2019

Demand to fly from the UK’s hub hit a record high of 38.8 million passengers (+1.8%) in H1 2019, underpinned by higher passenger satisfaction and increased investment.

In financial terms, Heathrow Airport incresased revenues by 4.0% to £1,461 million and EBITDA by 1.5% to £900 million. Adjusted profit before tax was also strengthened by lower net finance costs.

During the first half of the year, there has been a strong appetite to invest in Heathrow. £1.4 billion raised so far this year as we build a war chest to deliver the £14 billion privately funded north west runway.

Heathrow has invested over £412 million to improve passenger experience, efficiency and resilience, including trials of security scanners which allow passengers to leave laptops and liquids in bags. These and many others initiatives has allowed the airport secure a place amongst the top 10 airports globally in the Skytrax awards, as well as 82% of passengers rating their experience at the airport as either “Excellent” or “Very Good”.

Heathrow has unveiled its draft preferred masterplan for expansion demonstrating how the airport will grow to over 140 million passengers by 2050, create tens of thousands of new skilled jobs and open up to 40 new long-haul trading links for Britain’s exporters. The airport has invited the public to provide further feedback on the plans which will be put into a final planning application in 2020.

In regards to sustainability, Heathrow supports the goal of net zero carbon by 2050. We are calling on the UN’s aviation body ICAO to set targets for the use of biofuels in aviation, as recommended by the Energy Transition Commission. We also call on the government to invest some of the nearly £4 billion annual revenue raised from Air Passenger Duty to scale-up production of sustainable fuels