September rise for Heathrow cargo volumes
11 / 10 / 2016
Heathrow airport’s cargo volumes rose 5.9% in September to 126,109 tonnes on the back of growth to East Asia and Latin America, with China volumes up 13% as Brazil airfreight soared 18%, and Mexico 7%.
Year to date, airfreight at the UK’s number one air cargo hub grew by 2.1% to just over 1.1m tonnes versus the same nine month period of 2015.
The London hub also saw a record number of passengers in September, with 6.8m people travelling through.
Heathrow, which is being tipped by pundits to win government approval for a third runway, accounted for almost 30% of all UK exports by value outside the European Union last year.
Source: Heathrow Airport
The Conservative government, led by Prime Minister Theresa May, has indicated that it will make a long-delayed decision on additional airport runway capacity in the South East of England in the very near future. Heathrow is competing with Gatwick, which wants permission to build a second runway.
Pressure for a decision on UK runway capacity has grown since the June 23 referendum which saw the UK vote by 52% to 48% in favour of leaving the European Union or ‘Brexit’.
Heathrow has also announced plans to give Britain a ‘Brexit Boost’ with an additional 25,000 flights on existing runways from 2021 – four years before a third runway would open.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “The Prime Minister is clear that her government will step up and do what’s right for Britain.
“Expanding our country’s largest port will give Britain’s businesses the best connected trading network in the world. We’ll show that we’re confident about our future and determined to make a success of Brexit.
“We’ve had the debate on airport capacity, we’ve heard all the arguments and the independent evidence is conclusive – Heathrow expansion will make Britain stronger and fairer for everyone. Now is the time to make the right choice for Britain and back Heathrow.”