London Heathrow Airport ends year with busiest ever December

London Heathrow Airport experienced its busiest-ever December, with over 6.6 million passengers, contributing to a total of 79 million passengers in 2023. The busiest day during the festive period was December 22nd, with nearly 250,000 passengers. Christmas Day saw 142,000 passengers facilitated through almost 800 flights.

Transatlantic travel played a key role, with 1.6 million passengers to and from North America in December. New York’s JFK Airport topped the list as the most popular destination in 2023, with over three million passengers. Terminal 5 recorded its busiest year, surpassing 33 million passengers in 2023.

Cargo processing reached 133,277 tonnes in December and over 1.43 million tonnes in 2023, reflecting 2% growth from the previous year. Heathrow maintained its position as the fourth busiest airport globally, with 24 routes exceeding one million passengers in 2023 (*).

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye expressed gratitude to the airport’s team and partners for their successful operations during the festive season and looks forward to continued growth in 2024.

*Full list of the 24 routes with over a million passengers in 2023, descending from highest passenger volume: New York (JFK), Dubai (DXB), Qatar (DOH), Dublin (DUB), Los Angeles (LAX), Madrid (MAD), Amsterdam (AMS), Frankfurt (FRA), Delhi (DEL), Istanbul (IST), Munich (MUC), Hong Kong (HKG), Toronto (YYZ), Singapore (SIN), Zurich (ZRH), Mumbai (BOM), Chicago (ORD), San Francisco (SFO), Paris (CDG), Newark (EWR), Edinburgh (EDI), Lisbon (LIS), Boston (BOS), Geneva (GVA).