More than 3 million passengers travelled through Britain’s Heathrow Airport in October, the sixth consecutive month of growth.
It was a significant increase on the 1.2 million who used the hub in October last year.
The relaxation of travel curbs before the half-term holiday unleashed pent up demand, with close to 100,000 travellers a day in October, Heathrow said, up 144 per cent compared with the same time last year.
However, despite the increase, passenger numbers are still 56 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels. Heathrow is urging the government to reassess testing regulations to help the UK compete effectively with European travel hubs.
“With air travel at other major European airports recovering faster, ministers should reassess testing requirements for fully vaccinated passengers and the passenger locator form at the next Global Travel Taskforce review, to ensure the UK is aligned with its European competitors,” Heathrow said in a statement.
Heathrow was battered by the pandemic, after global restrictions caused passenger numbers to plummet at the start of the crisis.
Last month, the aviation hub said it remains a loss-making airport despite its first full quarter of passenger growth since 2019, before the start of the Covid-19 crisis.
The London airport said it has lost £3.4 billion since the start of the pandemic and is still losing £3 million a day.
However, it is easing into recovery mode after passenger numbers in the third quarter recovered to 28 per cent and cargo to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Now as the recovery gathers pace, the airport said its focus remains on the race to net zero, with sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) holding the key to cutting carbon.
To ensure a rise in the use of SAF, Heathrow urged the government to support investment by ensuring price stability and requiring airlines to use SAF for 10 per cent of their fuel by the end of the decade and at least 50 per cent by 2050.
SAF is produced with materials other than crude oil, and produces up to 80 per cent less carbon emissions than traditional jet fuel.
“As the journey to recovery accelerates, aviation’s ambitions to decarbonise must keep pace,” Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said.
“We need to keep our foot to the pedal, working to make air travel guilt-free and government must act with a mandate for 10 per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel by 2030 and a price stability mechanism to upscale SAF usage, if we are to tackle the industry’s biggest challenge - carbon.”
Earlier this week, British Airways demonstrated the capabilities of SAF by powering its first flight back to the US with 35 per cent SAF – the highest level for a commercial transatlantic flight ever used.
Heathrow, which last year lost its crown as Europe's busiest airport to Paris, has tried to claw back the losses made during the pandemic by raising its charges to airlines.
Last month Heathrow was given the go-ahead by the Civil Aviation Authority to increase passenger charges by up to 76 per cent.
However the airport is still facing issues with queues, with passengers arriving on Wednesday waiting as long as two hours after software issues caused automated entry gates to fail for the third time in less than two months.
A technical issue was affecting Border Force e-gates at a number of ports, according to a spokeswoman for the Home Office. “We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible and apologise to all passengers for the inconvenience caused,” she said.
This is at least the third such border software outage, with previous failures in September and October.
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
More on animal trafficking
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
The%20specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
