Britain’s Heathrow says business travel lagging in COVID bounceback

Britain’s Heathrow says business travel lagging in COVID bounceback

LONDON - London's Heathrow Airport, Britain's main travel hub, expects passenger numbers this year to be at the upper end of its forecasts, as demand continues to bounce back after COVID restrictions despite business travel lagging.

Heathrow, owned by Spanish group Ferrovial, Qatar Investment Authority and other investors, forecasts it will carry 58-73 million passengers in 2023, which is around 90% of pre-pandemic levels at the upper end of the range.

Pent-up demand for leisure travel after three years of COVID-19 restrictions is driving passenger numbers, said Heathrow's Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye on Thursday.

"Business demand is probably the only area that is lower than we would have expected," he said.

Business travellers represented 28% of passenger numbers during the final three months of 2022, compared with 32% in the same period pre-pandemic, he said.

"What we're seeing there, is a lot of consulting companies, banks, tech companies, who are big travellers, are pulling back on travel as they're making the cost reductions," he said.

In 2022, Heathrow reported passenger numbers of 62 million, in line with forecasts, representing 75% of pre-pandemic levels.

The company's annual adjusted loss before tax narrowed to 684 million pounds ($825 million) from the 1.27 billion pound loss it made a year