LONDON: Despite record breaking start to the year at Heathrow, latest figures show that EU competitor, Charles de Gaulle, is growing at twice the rate and is set to overtake as Europe’s leading hub airport within the next 2 years.

Over 6 million passengers travelled through the airport in January (up 2.9%). UK routes led passenger growth, increasing by 10.2% as more passengers travelled to Newquay and Guernsey. Other top performing markets were the Middle East (+7.6%) and North America (+ 4.7%).

Over 115,000 metric tonnes of cargo travelled through the UK’s largest port by value, with the UK standing out as the top market for cargo growth (+60.6%).

The UK Sustainable Aviation coalition has committed to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, setting out a roadmap which will cut carbon, whilst accommodating a 70% growth in passenger numbers.

Heathrow’s Chief Executive, John Holland-Kaye, said: “If we are to be a truly global Britain, we need to be better connected to global markets than our rivals in Europe. It would be an economic disaster for the country to fall behind, just as we leave the EU. Heathrow’s new runway will make the UK a winner, connecting all of Britain to global growth and that’s why we need to get on with delivering it!”

Edited by Kazim Rizvi