Heathrow continued to make a loss in the first quarter, blaming fees set by the regulator as it posted a 74 per cent annual increase in passenger traffic.
Britain’s biggest and Europe’s busiest airport recorded 16.9 million passengers in the first three months of the year, a substantial increase over last year’s pandemic-affected numbers.
Yet it posted a £139 million ($173 million) adjusted loss, saying fees had been set "too low". It has launched an appeal against the passenger fees, which it had been ordered to lower for airlines using the UK airport.
Heathrow said it beat Paris, Frankfurt and Schiphol to retain its position as the world’s second busiest airport, after Dubai, for international travel.
In a statement, it said passengers rated Heathrow’s service ahead of its main EU rivals, with a “strong performance” during the half-term and Easter holidays.
“Our robust contingency plans kept the airport running smoothly throughout a period of industrial action over the Easter peak.
“Passengers can expect to travel as normal during the coronation and half-term peaks, regardless of further unnecessary strike action by Unite. We are working with partners on further improvements to service, such as Border Force’s successful trial of extending eGates to [10-year-olds and above] over Easter.”
The airport said it had made “steady progress” towards sustainability goals.
“We were pleased to be the first airport to achieve science-based validation from the SBTi for our 2030 carbon reduction goals,” it said.
And it said it had worked hard to connect the UK to global markets, and opened up connections to 10 Chinese cities as borders reopened there. Frequencies to Beijing and Shanghai will increase to twice daily before the summer.
The west London airport appealed to ministers to remove VAT on shopping for tourists, which will drive more spend in shops, restaurants and attractions across Britain to further drive passenger numbers.
Heathrow’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “2023 has got off to a strong start, and I'm proud of the way colleagues are working together to deliver great passenger service every day.
“We are building our route network to connect all of Britain to the growing markets of the world – now we need the government to lure international visitors back to the UK by scrapping the ‘tourist tax’.”
Decades of flight: Heathrow through the years - in pictures
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Heathrow Airport in London, the UK's busiest, has been a travel hub for decades. Here The National takes a look back at Heathrow through the years. All photos: Getty Images -
An Airco De Havilland biplane of the British airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, about to leave on the company’s inaugural flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, later known as Heathrow, to Le Bourget, Paris, in August 1919 -
Waterlogged runways at London Airport - Heathrow's original name - one week before it became Britain's main aerial gateway to the US in 1946 -
The new BOAC maintenance headquarters at London Airport circa 1955 -
The air traffic control room at the airport's new terminal in 1955 -
US film star Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after arriving at the airport in July 1956 -
An aerial view showing the runways in 1958 -
The arrivals and departures board in 1960 -
A new airport gift shop, selling items by Chanel, Wedgwood and Pringle of Scotland, in 1961 -
The Queen's Building and the No. 1 Building Europa at Heathrow in 1965 -
The Beatles leave Heathrow for Salzburg in Austria, to resume filming of the movie Help!, in 1965 -
Passenger terminal gates at Heathrow in 1966 -
Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC, holding up a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow in 1969 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1970 -
Passengers boarding the first BOAC Jumbo Jet 747 used for a commercial flight, from London Heathrow to New York, in 1971 -
Passengers going through the departure lounge at Heathrow in 1973 -
Concorde takes off from Heathrow on her first commercial flight for British Airways in 1976 -
Men at work finalising the Heathrow Central underground station before its opening in 1977 -
Queen Elizabeth II passing though the Tube gates at Heathrow Central station on its opening in 1977 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1978 -
Passengers waiting near a departures board in 1979 -
Holidaymakers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 3 of Heathrow in 1981 -
British Airways employees protesting at Heathrow in 1984 -
Passengers and staff observe a silence in Heathrow's Terminal One to mark the beginning of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 -
Rower Steve Redgrave at Heathrow with daughters Sophie and Natalie and son Zak after returning from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with his gold medal -
Spectators watch the last Concorde land at Heathrow in 2003 -
Fans surround the coach carrying the England rugby team at Heathrow, as they arrived from Sydney after winning the World Cup in 2003 -
Heathrow's Terminal 2 in 2004 -
Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport during the Christmas 2006 and New Year period -
Passengers wait at Terminal 1 on August 10, 2006, after airport security was raised to critical when a terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US was disrupted by police -
Planes queueing to take off at Heathrow in 2007 -
The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008 -
Aircraft at Heathrow Airport in front of the London skyline in 2016 -
Members of Team GB arrive from Rio de Janeiro at Heathrow, after returning from the 2016 Olympics, which saw Great Britain's strongest performance at the Games in over a century -
A composite photo shows planes taking off from Heathrow in November 2016. Forty-two planes were captured between 10.17am and 11.17am and a montage was created from those single images -
Items are arranged during an auction preview at Heathrow in 2018. The contents of Terminal 1, which closed in 2015, were being sold -
An airline passenger wearing a face mask pushes her bags through Heathrow's Terminal 5 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 -
British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 -
Travellers wait in a long queue to pass through the security check in 2022
