London Heathrow Airport sees World Cup boost as North America traffic surges in June

Heathrow Airport recorded strong demand for North American travel in June 2026, with 1.97 million passengers flying between London and North America as football fans travelled to the FIFA World Cup. Passenger numbers on North American routes increased 1.2% year-on-year, marking a second consecutive month of growth for the market.

With the tournament’s final stages taking place during the peak summer travel period, Heathrow said it is well positioned to support last-minute trips thanks to its extensive US connectivity and growing transfer traffic, which rose by more than 3%. The airport highlighted that new security scanners are now operational across all terminals, allowing passengers to keep liquids and laptops in their hand luggage and maintaining average security waiting times below five minutes.

Cargo activity also remained strong, with Heathrow handling nearly 135,000 tonnes of freight in June, while trade with North America increased by 6% year-on-year. The airport said Asia-Pacific was its fastest-growing major market in June, with passenger numbers up 2.5% and cargo volumes rising 11.7%.

Overall, Heathrow welcomed 7.2 million passengers in June, down 1.8% compared with June 2025, mainly due to continued weakness in Middle Eastern traffic. However, passenger numbers for the first half of 2026 reached 40 million, a slight increase of 0.2% year-on-year.

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said the airport’s performance demonstrated continued demand for global connectivity despite geopolitical challenges. He also renewed calls for approval of Heathrow’s privately funded expansion plans, arguing that a third runway would support new routes, trade growth and economic development across the UK.