Heathrow sees 2.3% drop in September passengers as Middle East traffic falls 20.1%

Heathrow handled 7.18 million passengers in September, a 2.3 % year‑on‑year decline.

Middle East traffic to the airport fell 20.1 % year‑on‑year while Asia Pacific traffic rose 3.3 % and non‑EU Europe traffic rose 1.7 %; passenger volumes for the first nine months totalled 62.9 million, a 0.6 % decline year‑on‑year. More than 40 airlines are seeking slots at Heathrow and regional airports such as Aberdeen, Belfast City, Cornwall Newquay, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle and Teesside are urging expansion, with trade unions GMB, Unite and the TUC backing the third‑runway project.