Heathrow ends 2023 with its busiest December in history

London’s Heathrow Airport recorded its busiest December ever last month with more than 6.6 million passengers passing through the UK travel hub, at an increase of 12.7% on December 2022.

The new figures released by the airport took Heathrow’s total passenger numbers for 2023 to over 79 million, marking an increase of 29% compared with 2022.

A key driver of December’s figures that maintained momentum throughout the year was transatlantic travel, with New York named Heathrow’s most popular destination in 2023, with over three million passengers in total.

Across North America as a whole, passengers numbers rose 29.6% to reach 19.9 million in 2023. That rate of growth was overshadowed by Asia-Pacific, where passenger numbers rose an impressive 76.2% to 9.7 million, after the wider reopening of the region post-Covid.

In 2023, 24 routes from Heathrow saw more than a million passengers each, with Dubai the second-most popular destination, followed by Qatar and Dublin.

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said:“By ending 2023 on a high, a strong foundation is laid for 2024, during which Heathrow will continue to grow and to facilitate the UK’s potential for global growth.”

London Heathrow continues to be the busiest airport in Europe, and the second biggest international airport.