Heathrow passengers down by almost 5% in February and March

Heathrow airport has reported a significant fall in passenger traffic in February and March as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on the aviation industry. Britain’s largest airport said that total passenger numbers fell 4.8% last month compared with the same period in 2019, to 5.4 million, once the extra leap year day is stripped out. The airport said demand has continued to weaken, with another year-on-year decrease in passenger numbers expected in March. Heathrow blamed lower demand on Asian and European routes, regions where airlines have significantly cut back or halted flights because of the spread of the coronavirus. The traffic figures show that Asia-Pacific passenger numbers fell by 28.4% in February, with EU traffic down 4.9%, stripping out the extra leap year day. The amount of cargo passing through Heathrow in February fell by 9.5%, to 115,800 tonnes, as the effect of the virus hits global trade. “The threat of coronavirus is an increasing challenge for the UK and we are working day and night to ensure Britain’s front door is open and safe for our people and passengers,” said John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow’s CE. “We will continue to work with the government to limit the impacts this will have on UK plc.” Processes in place include an “early warning system” to allow airline crews to report an illness during a flight ahead of landing.<br/>