London Heathrow Airport has announced that 2024 was a record-breaking year for passenger traffic, with the facility welcoming its highest-ever number of passengers in a single calendar year. As a result of this operational success, the largest and busiest airport in the United Kingdom will be paying a dividend to its ultimate shareholders for the first time in five years.
Before the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, London Heathrow Airport's annual traffic had begun consistently exceeding the 80-million mark. This milestone was first reached in 2018, when 80.1 million passengers passed through its doors, climbing to an impressive annual total of 80.9 million in 2019. However, the global health crisis derailed this growth.
In 2020, only 22.1 million passengers passed through Heathrow's doors, with this figure dropping further to 19.4 million in 2021. With travel restrictions relaxing in 2022, totals bounced back to 61.6 million and continued climbing to 79.2 million in 2023. As announced by the airport today, an unprecedented total of 83.9 million paying guests were recorded for \[2024\].