Heathrow airport lands record first quarter – ET Infra

LONDON: London’s Heathrow airport handled a record number of passengers in the first quarter thanks to strong Asian demand, it said Wednesday, but upcoming performance risked being hit by workers striking.

A total of 18.5 million passengers travelled through one of the world’s busiest hubs in the first three months of the year, Heathrow said in a statement.

“Reflecting the strong performance, our 2024 passenger outlook has been bumped up to 82.4 million,” it added.

Heathrow last year hosted 79.2 million passengers.

Wednesday’s update came one day after major British union Unite said almost 800 Heathrow staff would strike for a week in May.

Unite said Heathrow faced “major disruption after management announced its intention to outsource hundreds of roles in a cost-cutting exercise”.

Reacting, Heathrow said it had a “robust operating plan in place to keep the airport running smoothly”.

Unite claimed workers in passenger services — including those assisting travellers to catch connecting flights — will see their jobs outsourced by June.

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