5.6 million passengers passed through Heathrow in December, a record for the month and up 2.0% on December 2011.
Chief Executive for Heathrow, Colin Matthews, said: The figures for 2012 show Heathrow is delivering higher passenger numbers despite a tough economic climate. At the same time passenger satisfaction reached record levels. Over the next twelve months we will continue to improve the passenger experience and focus on our investment programme, as we move towards completion of the new Terminal 2..
This took the number of passengers for 2012 to almost 70 million, the highest ever for a calendar year at Heathrow, and an increase of 0.9% compared with 2011.
Heathrows performance in 2012 was led by North Atlantic traffic which increased 3.2%. Strength in services with Brazil, up 21.6% (due to more flights), the Middle East and central Asia, up 3.4% (due partially to recovery in key markets from the unrest in the region that impacted 2011) and East Asia, up 6.2% was offset particularly by weakness in African and Indian traffic, down 5.7% and 3.4% respectively, due to airlines reducing or ceasing services. Heathrows European traffic increased modestly, up 0.5%.
