Heathrow traffic down in June but North America bright spot

Traffic to North America remained a bright spot for Heathrow last month, which handled 1.97 million outbound passengers to the region alone.

The upturn, fuelled by the ongoing FIFA World Cup finals in Canada, the US and Mexico, marked a second consecutive month of increased travel to the region, with flight numbers up and passenger numbers increasing by 1.2% year-on-year.

And it wasn’t just passengers heading across the Atlantic, as Heathrow handled close to 135,000 tonnes of cargo in June, an increase of almost 4%.

Another positive was Asia-Pacific, which became Heathrow’s fastest-growing major market last month, with passengers up 2.5% and cargo volumes up 11.7%.

However, the picture wasn’t quite so bright overall in June, with passenger traffic for the month down 1.8% to 7.2 million passengers compared to the same period a year ago.

The decline is attributed to the “continued suppression of Middle Eastern traffic” due to the ongoing conflict in the region.

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye, said: “It’s been a strong end to the first half of 2026, despite the challenges presented by the situation in the Middle East.

“Sustained growth in North American and Asia-Pacific coupled with climbing cargo volumes demonstrates the strength of demand for global connectivity.

“As the government looks for projects that can drive economic growth across the whole of the country, attract investment and create new jobs for young people, Heathrow’s privately funded expansion presents an open goal.

“A third runway will unlock new opportunities for businesses, exporters and communities in every region and nation of the country. It’s time to get this vital project off the bench and onto the pitch”.