Heathrow to reopen Terminal 4 in July as 53m expected to book flights

London's Heathrow airport has said it will reopen Terminal 4 by July and is already recruiting up to 1,000 new security officers. Heathrow increased its 2022 passenger number forecast from 45.5 million to nearly 53m as it warned of “significant challenges” ahead. The London hub said outbound leisure travellers and people cashing in airline vouchers obtained for trips cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic are driving the recovery in demand. This 16% rise in expected travellers follows a “strong” April, with 5.1m people using the west London airport. In what it said was a “realistic assessment”, Heathrow expects passenger numbers to reach 65% of pre-pandemic levels this year. It still expects to remain lossmaking throughout this year. The airport cautioned that the war in Ukraine, higher fuel costs and cost of living squeeze “creates uncertainty going forward.”<br/>