‘Blue skies are on the horizon’ as Heathrow passenger traffic on the rise

Sunday, 11 Aug, 2021 0

Heathrow Airport reported its busiest month since the early days of the Covid pandemic but remains just a fraction of normal levels.

The number of monthly passengers rose 74% to more than 1.5 million in July.

Still, it remains nearly 80% down on pre-pandemic passenger traffic.

Airport bosses once again called for the government to reopen travel to fully vaccinated people from more countries to help kick-start the economic recovery.

"Government must now capitalise on the vaccine dividend and replace expensive PCR tests with more affordable lateral flow tests. This will ensure travel remains attainable," said Chief Operating Officer Emma Gilthorpe said.

There are now ‘finally some blue skies are on the horizon’ Gilthorpe added.

The further relaxation of travel restrictions since late June led to the increase in passengers with a spike in numbers from North America.

Heathrow expects further gains as US carrier JetBlue makes is long awaited transatlantic debut this week.

Fully vaccinated US travellers are now able to travel to the UK quarantine-free but the US hasn’t extended the privilege to UK travellers in the opposite direction.

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels...

ITB Asia, Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show, is an annually held B2B trade show and convention for the travel industry; it is designed...

Why choose Titan Travel? There are some great travel companies out there – so why Titan? Well, we’re one of...

For over 18 years and over 106 completed events, the Travel & Adventure Show has connected over 2.5 million travel...

The Florida Keys and Key West is a 126 mile long string of Islands connected to South Florida by the...

Our leadership is bold. Our agility thrives on open innovation and we embrace the new, whether it’s diversity, trends, challenges....

Global Hotel Alliance brings together a unique collection of independent hospitality brands for GHA DISCOVERY, a multi-brand loyalty programme. GHA...

We are a small-group adventure travel operator offering more than 750 tours in 100 countries, on all seven continents. Our...

This is Jersey. An island shaped by the sea where some of the most astonishing tides in the world circle...

Located in the Mediterranean and connecting Asia and European continents that are separated by the famous Bosphorus, Türkiye is a...

If you’re thinking of cruising, there’s a very good chance you’re considering a Carnival cruise. Growing since our founding in...

Consisting of the three Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island as well as Newfoundland and...

AXA Assistance specializes in best-in-class cost containment, health and travel services. Over 60 years of experience combined with a US and...

Take your clients’ vacation to the next level at Universal Orlando Resort™. With three amazing theme parks – Universal Studios...

Family-owned Olympic Holidays has been arranging holidays to Greece, the Greek islands and Cyprus for more than half century. The company is unrivalled...