Heathrow Airport celebrated “World Cup fever” with its busiest June on record for passenger numbers, as monthly cargo throughput fell 2.1% to just over 139,000 tonnes versus same period 2017.
Cargo volumes for the UK, the European Union, the rest of Europe and Latin America saw relatively modest gains in June.
African volumes fell 5.7% in June to 7,629 tonnes, North America fell 1.4% to just over 50,000 tonnes, Asia/Pacific edged down 1.1% to 42,000 tonnes while the Middle East – celebrating Ramadam for the first two weeks of the month - recorded the largest decline, a 7.1% fall to just under 21,000 tonnes.
For the January to June six months period, Heathrow cargo volumes rose 2.2% to 841,500 tonnes, while for the July 2017 to June 2018 rolling 12 months, cargo volumes are up 6.6% to just over 1.7m tonnes
Around 7m passengers travelled through the UK’s hub (+5.4% vs June 2017)
On June 26, Heathrow saw a 50% increase into the host nation of the football World Cup, where England play Croatia tonight in the semi-final battle to face France.
June also saw MPs in the House of Commons vote overwhelmingly to expand Heathrow with a third runway, likely to open in 2025.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “Heathrow has had a great June, the start to a fantastic summer showing off the best of Britain. We’re proud to be the UK’s gateway, connecting the world’s best fans to the pitches of the World Cup in Russia and the grass courts of Wimbledon.
“With a strong mandate from Parliament to expand, we’ll continue making Britain proud for decades to come.”
Meanwhile, London-Gatwick airport saw cargo volumes grow strongly, up +19.4% in June to 9,354 tonnes, as a result of its "thriving" long-haul network.
Read more Cargo Airport News news
Sign up to receive Air Cargo News direct to your inbox for free
