London Heathrow airport traffic dips due to Mideast war

LONDON: London’s Heathrow Airport announced Monday that passenger numbers dropped in April as the Middle East war disrupted global air travel.

The airport handled 6.7 million passengers last month, down 5.3 percent from one year earlier, Heathrow said in a statement.

Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, said that the decline reflected “the ongoing impact of the Middle East conflict on some markets and short-term adjustments to travel plans.”

“While we have seen some short term disruption linked to the Middle East conflict, demand for travel remains strong with current fuel supplies stable,” said the airport’s chief executive Thomas Woldbye.

“April was still our busiest month so far this year, underlining the strength of a global hub airport that can adapt quickly in times of uncertainty,” he added.

The number of transit passengers, however, rose 10 percent year-on-year in April, matching a similar increase recorded in the previous month, as passengers rerouted through London.

Gulf airlines Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways have built their business model on connecting passengers on long-haul flights across the globe.

But following the outbreak of the war on February 28, Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel and US allies in the Gulf, reaching airports and other key infrastructure.

The operations of the Gulf airlines were severely disrupted, and some passengers chose to avoid travel through the Gulf region and opt for alternative transit routes.