Heathrow Airport sees 2024 traffic grow by 6% to a record 83.9M passengers

2024 proved to be a record year for London-Heathrow Airport (LHR), the UK’s busiest air travel gateway. The airport, situated to the west of the English capital city, handled 83.9 million passengers during the twelve months ending December 31, 2024. This figure marks a new annual record for Heathrow and represents a 5.9% increase over the number handled in 2023. The airport also set a new record for the amount of cargo handled during the year, with a 10% annual rise year-on-year.

With demand for travel from the airport continuing to rise, the airport’s operator Heathrow Airport Limited is expecting further growth during 2025, although has already stated that growth is unlikely to match that seen in 2024, as traffic growth is being stifled by capacity limits both in terms of terminal space as well as take-off and landing slots.

In terms of finances, the airport saw revenues drop by 4% despite the higher passenger numbers. Heathrow’s total revenue declined to £3.6 billion ($4.57bn) with the adjusted EBITDA figure (which takes into account certain permitted deductions) also down to £2.0 billion ($2.54bn) as a result of lower airport charges being set by the UK’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority. For 2024, Heathrow posted a pretax profit of £917 million ($1.16bn), up 31% over 2023.

Ceri Breeze / ShutterstockIn a statement on February 26, 2025, Heathrow Airport Limited said, “Despite record passenger numbers, we continue to focus on reducing costs and delivering more efficiencies to improve our EBITDA margin. Our financial resilience remains robust including a strong liquidity position at £3.4 billion ($4.31bn). For the first time in five years and as a result of strong 2024 business performance, Heathrow’s Board of Directors has decided to pay a dividend of £250 million (£317.5mn) to its ultimate shareholders in the coming weeks.”

The airport’s owners include investment firm Ardian, Qatar Investment Authority, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The airport also reported that improvements in customer service had assisted in the facility delivering a strong 2024 performance and that delivering a “high-quality customer experience” remains its priority for 2025. Stable security waiting times, more on-time departures, and better baggage performance were all noted in 2024. “We were delighted to be recognized by both Condé Nast and Travel Weekly as the UK’s best airport, and for our retail and VIP services to be recognized as “Best in Class”, added the airport’s statement. “We are redoubling our efforts to deliver more improvements [in 2025].”

WildSnap / Shutterstock“2024 underscores why Heathrow is the UK’s gateway to growth,” said Heathrow’s  CEO, Thomas Woldbye. “Our colleagues welcomed a record number of passengers with good service, cargo volumes increased 10% boosting British trade and we invested over £1bn to improve facilities and boost resilience which creates more value for customers at Britain’s front door.”

“Securing future economic growth means investing in the infrastructure that powers it. Over the next decade, we will be making the largest private investment in the UK’s transport network which will modernize Heathrow and unlock new capacity for growth. This will grow the economy, make Heathrow better for all of our customers, and give the UK a competitive world-class hub fit for the future. This is an exciting time for our customers, our colleagues, and the country and we’re looking forward to working with the Government to deliver it,” Woldbye added.

Meanwhile, Heathrow is on the cusp of a huge transformation that will see its facilities modernized as well as the start of a process that could see a third runway being built at the airport and in use by around 2035. Earlier in February 2025, the airport announced the largest private investment program in Heathrow’s 79-year history with a multi-stage investment program due to be enacted in the coming years.

Alexandre Rotenberg / ShutterstockThis privately funded program to transform Heathrow’s current infrastructure, with tangible benefits due to be felt “as early as 2025”, will start with projects within the airport’s existing boundary and preliminary work towards the third runway.  Other projects will see enhancements to terminal infrastructure, improving customer experience and punctuality, expanding local and sustainable transport options, and boosting the environmental credentials of the airport.

In terms of what will become a key battleground in terms of the plans for the third runway, the airport has refreshed its sustainability strategy which includes new targets after Heathrow achieved progress on its previous goals. Record amounts of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (‘SAF’) were used at Heathrow during 2024 and the airports will continue to lead on SAF use in the UK, offering a 3% incentive in 2025, a figure representing 1% above the UK Government’s mandate.

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