(Alliance News) – Heathrow airport in London on Wednesday 7 bemoaned that it was the only hub airport in Europe to see a reduction in passenger numbers in 2021, due to the UK’s tougher coronavirus travel rules.
Just 19.4 million people travelled through the west London airport last year.
That was down 12% on the previous 12 months and represents the lowest annual total since 1972.
The airport blamed its poor performance in comparison with European rivals on the UK’s tighter restrictions on international travel.
Cost savings of GBP870 million were achieved in the past two years, but the airport’s pretax loss still came in at GBP1.79 billion, narrowed only slightly from GBP2.01 billion in 2020, due to high fixed costs and low passenger numbers. Cumulative losses during the pandemic rose to GBP3.8 billion.
The airport said it is hopeful for a strong summer rebound, contributing to 45.5 million passengers expected to use the airport this year, but it reported lower-than-expected passenger numbers in January and February.
Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye described 2021…
