UK transatlantic air traffic to hit 99% of pre-pandemic levels in May

Flights from Britain to the US are up 22% compared to May last year and up 493% on May 2021

Transatlantic flights are closing in on pre-pandemic levels. PA

UK transatlantic travel is projected to hit 99 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in May, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.

There are 4,414 flights scheduled to depart Britain for the US this month, compared to 4,456 flights in May 2019, before widespread Covid-19 travel restrictions were implemented.

Transatlantic flights are a major moneymaker for business sectors including tourism, aviation and others in North America and in the UK.

Flights from Britain to the US are up 22 per cent compared to May last year and up 493 per cent compared with May 2021, Cirium said on Friday.

From Friday, non-citizens arriving in the US no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated against Covid.

As the transatlantic flights marker is hit, Heathrow Airport has warned that the return of passengers through its terminals may already be levelling off.

Demand for air travel surged after the UK’s travel rules were scrapped, but it has flatlined compared with pre-virus levels in recent months. About 6.4 million passengers travelled through the airport in April.

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “It is only 12 months since all international travel restrictions in the UK were lifted, and we have made tremendous progress. I am proud that colleagues across Heathrow have shown Britain at its best for visitors arriving for the coronation.”

In another sign of industry optimism on Friday, Air Canada broke even in the first quarter, taking advantage of pent-up demand for travel and lower fuel costs.

Canada’s largest airline said operating revenue was C$4.9 billion ($3.6 billion), nearly double last year’s first quarter, when Canada still had some coronavirus restrictions in place. That easily beat analysts’ estimates for C$4.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

It was the airline’s second-highest quarterly revenue since the pandemic began three years ago,

Flight data analysts Cirium flagged in March that transatlantic routes were enjoying a renaissance.

It said seats on some of the fastest-growing routes — including flights from London Gatwick, Milan and Paris — was exceeding demand.

Routes from all London airports to Los Angeles. on the US west coast, had 100,000 more seats this summer than last.

Cirium expects demand to stay high throughout the summer.