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By pretty much any metric, London Heathrow airport is one of the world’s biggest and busiest air hubs. Last year LHR was named the planet’s fourth busiest air hub and the world’s most connected aviation hub, as well as recognised as one of the best-quality airports.
And the past 12 months have seen Heathrow reach new heights. Last summer the west London hub broke a record for passenger numbers in the previous 12 months, then at the end of 2024 it had record-breaking month after record-breaking month.
So it’s no surprise that LHR has just hit another milestone. The air hub says that in 2024 it saw more passengers pass through it than any previous calendar year. A whopping 83.9 million passengers apparently used Heathrow’s terminals in 2024, three million more than the pre-pandemic record from 2019.
London Heathrow welcomed 4.7 million more passengers in 2024 than in 2023 (a 5.9 percent increase), and it isn’t stopping there. The airport has forecasted that it’ll serve 84.2 million in 2025.
Heathrow looks set to get bigger, but how will that impact travellers using it? In December LHR revealed plans to spend £2.3 billion improving ‘passenger experience’ at the airport, with just over £1 billion of that being spent in 2025.
About the airport’s record-breaking 2024, Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: ‘2024 was an exciting and a record-breaking year at Heathrow – I'm proud of all my colleagues and our partners who worked so hard to deliver great experiences for more passengers than ever before.
‘In 2025, our journey towards better value for our customers will continue by investing in the kind of facilities our passengers and airlines are looking for. We aim to become more innovative to ensure that our airport delivers for the whole of the UK.’
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