Heathrow Logs Busiest March as Middle East Reroutes Lift Transfers 10%

Overview

• Heathrow, which reported Monday its busiest March at 6.6 million passengers, said transfer traffic rose 10% after Middle East airspace closures pushed travelers to switch hubs.
• Passenger flows to and from the Middle East fell about 51% in March, while routes to Asia Pacific grew 31%, Africa 23%, and Europe by about 12% year on year.
• First-quarter traffic reached 18.9 million passengers, up 3.7% from a year earlier, with the Middle East down 12.7% for the quarter.
• The airport said its runways are fully allocated, which limits how much displaced demand it can absorb compared with some European rivals that have more room to grow.
• Heathrow reported no hit so far from fuel or supply chain issues and said it will keep working with airlines and the UK government to protect passengers’ journeys as the conflict evolves.