Passengers cashing in travel vouchers issued after trips were cancelled during the Covid pandemic have led Heathrow Airport to increase its passenger number forecast by 16 per cent for the year.
Five million passengers travelled through Heathrow during the busy Easter period in April.
The west London airport said in a statement on Tuesday that it had been boosted by outbound leisure travellers and a recovery in passenger demand, which is set to last throughout the summer.
As a result, Heathrow increased its 2022 passenger number forecast from 45.5 million to nearly 53 million.
The forecast means Heathrow expects passenger numbers to reach 65 per cent of pre-pandemic levels this year.
This is a "realistic assessment", the airport insisted.
Airlines have accused Heathrow of playing down the recovery of demand as part of efforts to convince the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to allow it to raise fees further.
The regulator is in the final stages of setting a five-year cap on the airport's charges.
Despite passengers complaining of delays at the airport over Easter, Heathrow said 97 per cent of travellers passed through security within 10 minutes compared with three-hour queues at other UK airports. It confirmed that Terminal 4 will reopen by July and 1,000 new security staff taken on to keep queues to a minimum.
However, it said unpredictability remains the harsh reality for travel.
The airport said: "The ongoing war in Ukraine, higher fuel costs, continuing travel restrictions for key markets like the United States and the potential for a further variant of concern creates uncertainty.
Decades of flight: Heathrow through the years - in pictures
"Together with last week’s warning from the Bank of England that inflation is set to pass 10 per cent and that the UK economy will likely ‘slide into recession’, means we are taking a realistic assessment that travel demand will reach 65 per cent of pre-pandemic levels overall for the year."
Heathrow expects to remain loss-making throughout this year and does not forecast paying any dividends to shareholders in 2022.
It called for the CAA to allow charges to increase to allow for reliable journeys "for less than a 2 per cent increase in ticket prices".
Heathrow chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, said: “We all want to see travel get back to pre-pandemic levels as quickly as possible, and while I am encouraged by the rise in passenger numbers, we also have to be realistic. There are significant challenges ahead — the CAA can either plan for them with a robust and adaptable regulatory settlement that delivers for passengers and withstands any shocks, or it can prioritise airline profits by cutting back on passenger service, leaving the industry to scramble when things go wrong in future.”
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
More on animal trafficking
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
