by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:30 PM ET, Mon January 11, 2016
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
Heathrow Airport in London, England, is one of the busiest airports in the world, and in 2015, the facility broke its own record by serving almost 75 million passengers.
According to Heathrow's official website, 74.95 million people traveled through the airport last year, an increase of 2.2 percent from 2014. The announcement of a record number of passengers comes on the heels of Heathrow also achieving record passenger satisfaction scores and multiple international awards.
Much of the credit for the increase goes to newer and larger aircrafts carrying more passengers, increasing the seats-per-aircraft percentage by 2.1 to an average of 209. In addition to more passengers, the airport also saw 1.5 million metric tons of cargo travel through the facility last year.
RELATED: A Look at Heathrow's Innovative Smart Screens
As for the markets that saw the most growth from the London airport, flights to China increased by 14 percent, flight to Latin America increased by eight percent and flights to the Middle East increased by six percent.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye spoke about the record increase in passenger traffic:
"2015 has been a banner year for Heathrow, serving more passengers than ever and being recognized in a number of awards as the best major airport in Europe for both passenger service and eco-innovation. The record levels of passenger satisfaction are due to a significant increase in training, apprenticeships and the number of front line colleagues moving into management roles."
RELATED: Take a Virtual Tour of Heathrow's Dazzling Terminal 2
"Our new expansion plan will make Heathrow the most sustainable hub airport, and Britain the best connected country in the world. We are ready to serve. On behalf of all of us at Heathrow, thank you to all of our passengers and fans for a great 2015! We look forward to seeing you all again soon!"
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
