Britain's biggest airport Heathrow had a slow start to 2022 after Omicron fears ruined travel plans of more than 1.3 million passengers, it said, although it was hopeful that outbound summer holidays could help offset the weakness.
The airport, however, kept its forecast for the year unchanged of just over half of pre-pandemic levels, as bookings for summer holidays outside the UK were recovering even as tourism into the country remained weak.
“After a tough Christmas, Omicron has continued to bite and this has been a weak start to the year,”
Heathrow Chief Executive Officer John Holland-Kaye said. “Removal of restrictions for vaccinated
passengers in and out of the UK offers a ray of hope, but the Omicron hangover proves demand remains fragile”, he said.
Travel demand in January was weaker than expected, the airport to the west of London said in a
statement, and over 56% down compared with pre-crisis levels in 2019, when Heathrow handled 80.9 million customers.
