Britain’s busiest airport Heathrow served nearly 40 million passengers in the first half of 2024, culminating in its busiest day ever on 30 June.
Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said the London hub would likely surpass that daily total again this week.
Encouraged by the new government's stance on aviation and growth, Woldbye highlighted efforts to increase capacity using existing infrastructure while also developing new runway plans.
“We will have a blueprint that includes a third runway, and a blueprint that doesn’t, because at the end of the day, there are still many external dependencies for a third runway,” Woldbye said. “I think London needs the additional capacity a third runway would provide.”
Heathrow recorded 39.8 million journeys in the first half of 2024, up from 38.8 million in the same period of 2019.
The airport's financial state has improved, with an underlying profit of £178 million compared to a £139 million loss a year earlier.
In comments published by the BBC, Woldbye said: "In terms of capacity and expansion at Heathrow, we're looking at two strings really.
"What can we do within the two runways that we have in order to improve our capacity, which I think we can, and which is quite urgent and can be done in the short term?
"In the longer term, we're looking at what is the most viable way forward and that does include the third runway."
But a third runway will not come without its detractors.
The plans have been met with legal challenges from local residents and environmental activists.
However, the Supreme Court reversed a previous decision to block the plans in 2020, landing a blow to campaigners.