Heathrow urges Autumn Budget to set aviation up for success

London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) has called on the labour government to consider the aviation industry ahead of next week’s Autumn Budget.

The appeal comes as Heathrow announces record-breaking passenger numbers in its third-quarter financial statement today.

Heathrow’s Chief Executive Officer Thomas Woldbye commented:

the Autumn Budget is a prime opportunity to set the aviation industry up for long term success.

Woldbye explained that working with the government on policy:

will supercharge Heathrow’s potential to deliver growth and investment for the whole of the country.

The statement encouraged the new government to expedite its plans for a Revenue Certainty Mechanism to support sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production. The mechanism would mitigate the risks to investors of uncertain revenues for new SAF plants. The policy aims to advance the UK’s SAF Mandate and Jet Zero Strategy.

Heathrow also noted the government’s support for its third runway expansion.

Heathrow’s busiest summer

A record-breaking 30.7 million passengers passed through Heathrow’s terminals from June to September.

Heathrow credited 2024’s “summer of sport and music” for the spike. With Olympic viewers, Euros football fans and Taylor Swift concert attendees travelling through Heathrow, the airport experienced its busiest ever departures and arrivals days in July and September respectively.

Heathrow’s Chief Financial Officer Sally Ding stated:

“We were seeing passengers travelling through Heathrow for all kinds of reasons, whether to see their families and friends, for holidays or for business trips and also to see Taylor Swift and going to Paris for the Olympics.”

The 6.2% rise in passengers since 2023 resulted from higher passenger Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) and load factor increases. As a result, the airport’s 2024 passenger forecast has risen from 82.4 million to 82.8 million.

New direct routes from Heathrow have also been announced in recent months.

The airport made an adjusted pre-tax profit of £172 million in its third quarter, an increase of 43.3% compared to 2023.

After Heathrow’s passenger numbers fell to 19.4 million in 2021 during COVID-19, today’s statement signals optimistic trends for the aviation sector’s recovery. The Autumn Budget released on September 30 will reveal the extent of government plans to support the industry’s future.