Heathrow Airport missed out on returning to pre-pandemic passenger figures in July by the skin of its teeth as people flocked to escape Britain’s wet weather.
Some 7,661,782 people travelled through the airport last month, compared to 7,754,139 in July 2019, marking a shortfall of just 1%.
The mere 92,357 difference shows a narrowing in the gap to pre-pandemic passenger levels compared to the prior month, with June’s 7,041,157 passengers lagging 3% behind the same period in 2019.
It comes as the aviation sector is enjoying a booming recovery following the Covid-19-induced lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.
Wet weather in the UK also pushed figures higher, according to the airport, as departures to Turkey hit a record, with Gibraltar, Portugal and Italy also not far off.
“It's great to see so many passengers getting away to grab some summer sun,” airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye commented.
Having struggled to cope with the rapid return of passengers in 2022, the airport pointed out that security waiting times were consistently sub-five minutes in July.
“Our teams are delivering excellent service which will ensure your travels get off to the best start,” Holland-Kaye added.