WHY IT RATES: Already one of the biggest, best and busiest airports around, Heathrow is continuing to rise to meet strong demand thanks to UK's continued tourist growth.-Michael Schottey, TravelPulse Director of Digital Content
Strong passenger satisfaction scores pushed up demand to fly from the UK's hub to an all-time high of 38.1 million passengers (+2.5%), with growth across all markets. Four new connections to China in 2018 helped trade through Heathrow grow 2.2% to 841,449 tonnes of cargo.
Summer getaway pushes sales higher-The summer getaway gets into full-swing, passengers are spending more in Heathrow's shops pushing retail growth 4.8% higher. Sunglasses have proved particularly popular, with over 700 pairs sold each day so far this year. Strong retail spend helps support lower airport charges which fell around 1%
Healthy financial growth-Strong retail sales and continued passenger growth pushed revenues up 2.3% to £1,405 million and increased Adjusted EBITDA by 1.6% to £848 million. Heathrow continues to invest responsibly in improving the passenger experience, with operating costs increasing slightly after investments to boost resilience, security and service. Heathrow is proud to have been given a "Good" accessibility rating by the CAA
Strong appetite to invest in Heathrow-Nearly £1 billion in global financing raised in 2018 to invest in the UK's hub airport, demonstrating Heathrow's attractiveness to global investors
Heathrow goes electric-After a nearly £6 million investment, Heathrow has installed over-boosting sustainable transport options and giving Heathrow the densest electric charging network in Europe
Expansion takes off-In June, an overwhelming political mandate in Parliament propelled Heathrow's expansion project forward. Heathrow is now reviewing over 100 fresh ideas from UK businesses and entrepreneurs to help deliver the project more innovatively, sustainably and affordably. This is in addition to finalizing visits to 65 UK sites bidding to help build the project through large-scale offsite manufacturing
John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive Officer of Heathrow, said:
"2018 will be a year for the record books-England's footballers have made the nation proud, we've had the best summer sunshine in years and Parliament voted overwhelmingly to expand Heathrow. We're proud to be the front door of a nation flying high, and we'll continue delivering a great passenger service and the global trading links that will keep the UK thriving for decades to come."
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