Fewer passengers were heading to Heathrow Airport in April as the war in the Middle East keeps travellers grounded.
Passenger numbers at Europe’s biggest airport fell by five per cent in April to 6.7m with the blame being attributed to the “ongoing impact of the Middle East conflict”.
For those heading to that particular region, Heathrow saw a whopping 50 per cent drop in volumes.
Still, in the year-to-date (Jan–Apr) traffic maintained modest growth at 1.2 per cent.
Transfer demand grew ten per cent in April, as travellers rerouted through Heathrow to reach Asia and Oceania, helping offset losses in direct Middle Eastern travel.
Travel to the Asia remained a major growth driver, with a 5.6 per cent increase in April and a 10.6 per cent increase year-to-date.
“We know passengers want certainty when planning their hard-earned summer holidays, so we are supporting Government and airlines as they work through their plans to get passengers on their journeys,” Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s top boss, said.
Jet fuel crisis ‘worse’ than Covid
Growing anxieties around the jet fuel shortage caused by the Iran war have rocked the travel industry.
Tony Fernandes, chief executive of Air Asia, said last week: “I thought I’d seen it all with Covid […] but having seen jet fuel go up almost three times — this is much worse.”
It comes after supplies for jet fuel have tumbled to their lowest level since records began as the war blocks crucial shipping lanes for fuel.
Spirit Airlines – a US-based low cost airline – last week collapsed under mounting pressure caused by surging oil prices. The firm had failed to secure a $500m lifeline from the Trump administration leaving it to go out of business and cancel all flights.
Researchers at Allianz Trade warned the UK is among the most “structurally exposed” to jet fuel shortages.
Meanwhile, transport secretary Heidi Alexander has loosened “use it or lose it” rules in a bid to soften the pressures facing airlines.
Woldbye said: “While we have seen some short‑term disruption linked to the Middle East conflict, demand for travel remains strong with current fuel supplies stable.”
