Heathrow says festive-period travellers will enjoy ‘best possible start’ to journeys

Heathrow airport said it is “fully prepared” for its busiest December on record.

Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said passengers travelling through the west London airport’s four terminals over the festive period can look forward to “the best possible start to their journeys”.

Heathrow is expecting passenger numbers for the month to exceed the December 2024 total of 7.08 million.

It also forecast that the figure for Christmas Day alone will reach a new high, topping the 160,000 seen last year.

The airport said a “record number of colleagues” are being deployed to assist passengers, and it has one million litres of products to prevent or remove ice to keep planes on the move.

Mr Woldbye said: “We are fully prepared to deliver an exceptional Christmas experience, ensuring passengers enjoy the festive atmosphere across our terminals.

“Millions of passengers have enjoyed exceptional levels of service across the airport this year, and those travelling through Heathrow this December can look forward to the best possible start to their journeys this holiday season.”

Heathrow recorded its busiest November on record with 6.63 million passengers, up 2.1% from a year ago.

The markets with the largest year-on-year percentage increase in flights were the Middle East (up 15.4%) and Asia/Pacific (up 6.5%).

Meanwhile, Heathrow announced that former BT boss Philip Jansen will succeed Lord Deighton as chairman of its board, with the latter stepping down on December 31 after nine years in the post.

Mr Jansen is currently chairman of WPP, the UK’s largest advertising company.