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19 per cent rise in Heathrow flights to India
The UK's only hub airport Heathrow enjoyed its busiest August on record as holidaymakers defied the economic gloom and flights to India increased by 19 per cent, the British Airports Authority said.
The UK's only hub airport Heathrow enjoyed its busiest August on record as holidaymakers defied the economic gloom and flights to India increased by 19 per cent, the British Airports Authority (BBA) said.
Driven by strong leisure travel and its position in the international route network, the airport handled 6.4 million passengers last month, an increase of 0.3 per cent as compared to the same period last year.
BAA said Heathrow had also benefited as it was the only London airport to offer flights to India, as UK businesses and communities "count on" it to visit friends and family.
However, the association also warned that the west London airport would need business fliers who have slashed overseas travel in the recession to return to the market if the growth was to continue.
"Heathrow's traffic performance in July and August was good. A continuation of the improving trend at Heathrow depends on business travellers re-establishing face-to-face contact with global markets," Chief Executive of BAA, Colin Matthews said.
Heathrow was offering shorter waiting times for connecting flights because of the frequency of its services and this had caused the number of passengers transferring at the airport to rise, he added.
The airport has handled around 44 million travellers till the month of August this year.
