Heathrow hits record passenger numbers

A record 39.8 million passengers travelled through Heathrow's terminals in the first half of the year

A record number of passengers travelled through Heathrow in the first half of the year, the airport has said.

The first six months of 2024 saw 39.8 million journeys - compared to 38.8 million in the first half of 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.

The west London airport's financial state has improved. It made an underlying profit of £178m compared to a £139m loss a year earlier.

Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said they were "reviewing" the project to build a third runway, which secured parliamentary approval in June 2018.

It has been delayed by legal challenges over the environmental impact and by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Woldbye said: "In terms of capacity and expansion at Heathrow, we're looking at two strings really.

"What can we do within the two runways that we have in order to improve our capacity, which I think we can, and which is quite urgent and can be done in the short term?

"In the longer term, we're looking at what is the most viable way forward and that does include the third runway."