Heathrow Airport has recorded its busiest day of the year so far, welcoming 267,000 passengers on July 19 as many schools broke up for summer.
Figures published by the west London airport show 7.85 million passengers passed through its four terminals in July, with Italy and Spain among the most popular destinations.
Several new airlines, including ITA Airways, Alaska Airlines and Riyadh Air, began serving the airport last month, carrying more than 136,000 passengers.
Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said summer is “off to a flying start” but “we want to go further” by “growing our route network and passenger offering”.
”Preparing for summer has been months in the planning; we understand how critical our role is in providing a seamless passenger experience and we’re committed to delivering throughout the summer peak,” he said.
“Expanding Heathrow will help ensure the UK remains home to Europe’s leading hub and continues to benefit from the trade, investment and tourism that increased connectivity will bring.”
Annual figures from trade body Airports Council International show Heathrow was Europe’s busiest airport from 1996 to 2019 before losing the title in 2020 due to coronavirus travel restrictions, before regaining it in 2023 and losing it again to Istanbul.
Heathrow’s July passenger total represented a 1.5 per cent decrease compared with the same month last year, whereas Istanbul saw a 2.3 per cent boost.
The Iran-US conflict has had an impact on Heathrow’s passenger traffic, with its passenger numbers on Middle East routes in July down 20.2 per cent year-on-year.
Despite this, Heathrow continues to operate its two runways at near-full capacity, and is seeking government permission to build a third.
An expansion proposal by the airport’s owners would enable it to accommodate 150 million passengers per year.
It recorded 84.46 million passengers in 2025.
Heathrow said in a statement: “Heathrow is operating at capacity. The case for expansion has never been clearer, as Heathrow was overtaken in July by Istanbul airport as the busiest hub in Europe.
“Our plans will ensure the country gets the infrastructure it needs to stay competitive and will deliver all-important economic growth.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander launched a consultation on the renamed Heathrow expansion national policy statement in June, setting out the conditions needed if the project is to be given the go-ahead.
Then-chancellor Rachel Reeves said at the time she was determined to get “spades in the ground” for the third runway in the current Parliament, and for it to be built by 2035.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who sacked Ms Reeves, previously expressed concerns over Heathrow expansion, stating the plans divert infrastructure investment “away from the North and traps it in London”.
