Heathrow passengers plunge as new virus strain hits travel

The number of passengers travelling through Heathrow airport plunged 83% in December as the new strain of Covid-19 took its toll on air travel.

Britain's biggest airport lost 5.6m passengers from a year earlier leaving it serving just 1.1m as many were forced to cancel festive gatherings in line with stricter government guidance.

The airport said it supported tighter border controls to combat Covid-19 but that the aviation industry needed more government help to survive the crisis. It said the government's introduction of pre-flight testing for passengers travelling to Britain was overdue after months of the industry calling for such a measure.

Heathrow's chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: "While we support tightening border controls temporarily by introducing pre-departure testing for international arrivals, as well as quarantine, this is not sustainable. The aviation industry is the cornerstone of the UK economy but is fighting for survival. We need a road map out of this lockdown, and a full waiver of business rates."

Holland-Kaye said the only government help airports had received was the furlough employment support scheme when other sectors, some of which were reporting record profits, were given business rates relief. Heathrow's passenger numbers for all of 2020 fell by 59m to 22.1m.