Heathrow announced its business and traffic commentary on Monday, showing strong performance in May. 

5.3 million passengers travelled through the airport, which was in line with its forecasts. In addition, Heathrow reported that May was its busiest month since March 2020, and passenger numbers were 79% of 2019 levels. 

Reports of cancelled flights and staff shortages have impacted holiday-goers this year.

However, despite May being one of its busiest months, Heathrow stated check-in worked well as customers checked in online, and 90% of passengers were through security in less than 10 minutes.

The airport also plans to reopen Terminal 4 on the 14th of June, with 30 airlines moving in ahead of a busy summer period.

“I’m immensely proud of the way my team has worked with airlines and other partners to ensure passengers got away during the Jubilee half term,” stated John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow CEO. 

Kaye further highlighted the progress made as they plan to “ramp up capacity” and “keep supply and demand in balance as we grow.”

Key Stats:

The above graph shows the number of EasyJet mentions on Twitter per week. As we approach a peak summer period for travel, there is a clear spike over the past two weeks. However, while the curve was edging higher in recent times, we cannot discount the significant spike arising from the recent chaos at airports.

Barcelona is one of the top holiday destinations for British tourists. And as we can see, interest over time has significantly increased over the last 12 months, with huge strides in 2022 for tourists itching to travel soon. It has been boosted by the relaxation of travel rules in Spain, which allows non-vaccinated travellers to enter the country with a negative Covid test.