Heathrow Airport returns to profitability
London’s Heathrow Airport has reported its first annual profit for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic
The airport, which is the UK’s busiest airport, reported an annual adjusted pre-tax profit of £38 million (US$48 million) for 2023 – its first profit in four years. This is up from a loss of £684 million in 2022.
The return to profitability was driven in part by the popularity of transatlantic travel – in particular to New York City – which pushed the total number of passengers served to 79.2 million last year.
The airport expects the number of travellers passing through it to rise even further this year – it estimates that it will serve a record 81.4 million people in 2024.
Despite this surge in travel demand, Heathrow is also expecting to face a real-term cut to its charges of around 20%, under new prices set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Some shareholders are looking to sell
Additionally, the announcement comes as shareholder Ferrovial looks to sell its 25% stake in Heathrow – worth approximately $3 billion – to Ardian and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Shareholders accounting for a 35% stake in the airport also intend to sell their shares alongside Ferrovial, according to a report by Reuters.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor for Voyageur Group, joining in 2021. He writes for both ITIJ and AirMed&Rescue, covering a range of topics including international travel and health insurance, medical assistance provision and air medical transportation. He also serves as Title Editor of the Assistance & Repatriation Reviews. Oliver holds an MA in Magazine Journalism from Cardiff University, as well as a BA in English with Creative Writing from Falmouth University.