UK: ‘Full’ Heathrow adds 1.6m passengers aided by bigger jets
London’s Heathrow, which has operated close to the capacity of its two runways since the start of the decade, boosted passenger numbers to just short of 75m last year as airlines deployed bigger jets to beat the cap on flights. Europe’s busiest hub added 1.6m passengers, a 2.2% gain, even as plane movements increased just 0.3%, it said Monday. By the year’s end, more than 20 Airbus Group SE A380 superjumbos were landing every day, helping to lift the average number of seats per flight to 209. UK PM David Cameron has delayed a decision on whether to allow the construction of a third runway at Heathrow until after London’s mayoral election later this year. The airport says it needs a new strip to lift passenger numbers above 135m by 2050, while opponents say the GBP18b plan is too costly and will increase noise in a heavily urban area.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2016-01-12/general/uk-2018full2019-heathrow-adds-1-6m-passengers-aided-by-bigger-jets
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
UK: ‘Full’ Heathrow adds 1.6m passengers aided by bigger jets
London’s Heathrow, which has operated close to the capacity of its two runways since the start of the decade, boosted passenger numbers to just short of 75m last year as airlines deployed bigger jets to beat the cap on flights. Europe’s busiest hub added 1.6m passengers, a 2.2% gain, even as plane movements increased just 0.3%, it said Monday. By the year’s end, more than 20 Airbus Group SE A380 superjumbos were landing every day, helping to lift the average number of seats per flight to 209. UK PM David Cameron has delayed a decision on whether to allow the construction of a third runway at Heathrow until after London’s mayoral election later this year. The airport says it needs a new strip to lift passenger numbers above 135m by 2050, while opponents say the GBP18b plan is too costly and will increase noise in a heavily urban area.<br/>
