Heathrow Airport has announced record-breaking numbers of passengers travelling through the airport largely due to the UK summer of big events including musicians such as Taylor Swift
Fans who flocked to London to attend Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts, have helped Heathrow Airport’s profits soar.
The UK gig dates drove thousands of fans to Heathrow and as a result, helped achieve record-breaking numbers of passengers travelling through the airport between June and September 2024.
Part of the successful summer was down to “iconic music stars passing through the UK”, the airport commented. Taylor Swift was among the artists who performed in the city over the season and consequently contributed to “a late-summer spike in departures”.
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The UK’s biggest airport also said there had been multiple consecutive weeks with record-breaking passenger numbers during the school holidays. Between June and September, the airport saw 30.7 million travellers and is expecting to handle 83.8 million passengers by the end of 2024.
This news comes after reports unveiled that Heathrow has secured a £350 million adjusted profit before tax in the first nine months of 2024.
“Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and its impact on the UK economy has been well documented this summer – so it’s unsurprising that 40,000 Swifties contributed to Heathrow’s record passenger numbers this year,” said Sarah James, deputy digital editor at Condé Nast Traveller.
“That’s in addition to the estimated £1 billion spending boost across the country thanks to the tour. In 2025, all eyes will be on the Oasis concert dates to see if a similar impact is felt.”
Over the busy summer months, Heathrow experienced both the busiest departures and busiest arrivals day in the airport’s history on 24 July and 2 September, respectively. In addition, all regions across the globe, except Africa, visited Heathrow airport more than they had last year, with huge growth seen for the UK and Asia Pacific regions.
Heathrow’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, said: “This summer has tested our colleagues, infrastructure and airlines to cooperate harder than ever before, with record numbers of passengers travelling through the busiest two-runway airport in the world.
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“We have risen to this challenge, delivering excellent service with over 91 per cent of passengers waiting at security for less than five minutes.”
Heathrow also intended to invest over £1 billion into the airport in 2024 and said that while no dividend was currently forecasted for 2024, this was subject to financial performance.
“Looking forwards, the Autumn Budget is a prime opportunity to set the aviation industry up for long term success. Backing British SAF through a revenue certainty mechanism and committing to joined up policy making that makes sense for aviation will supercharge Heathrow’s potential to deliver growth and investment for the whole of the country,” concluded Mr Woldbye.
