Transport Insights

Heathrow airport reported record September passenger numbers, which some might think is a bad thing in a climate emergency, but the (London) Standard thinks is inadequate.

The airport announced that:

Heathrow welcomed nearly 7.4 million passengers last month, making it our busiest September ever and rounding off a record-breaking summer. It’s a clear sign that Heathrow is the UK’s hub for global travel.

It may be stating the obvious, but passengers and flights are not the same metric and more passengers can fly on the same number of flights (or fewer), particularly if planes are getting bigger.

But the Standard reported the same “record-breaking summer” as very much glass half-full:

Heathrow’s 2025 passenger numbers growth just 0.3% amid capacity constraints

Figures from the UK’s busiest airport show 63.3 million passengers travelled through its four terminals between January and September.

That is only 200,000 more than during the same month last year, as its two runways are being used at almost full capacity.

The airport said it recorded its busiest September, with 7.3 million passengers.

That 7.3 million passengers is up 0.8% on the equivalent period in 2024, while the 84 million passengers from October 2024 to September 2025 is up 1.5%.

Apart from the usual hack trick of picking on the worst number to make a negative story, why is the Standard assuming that passenger numbers should keep growing as the planet burns and why is not growing particularly fast a bad thing?

It’s all about the campaign for a new runway, of course.

On that front, the airport has just announced a plan to realign section of the M25, which the new runway will in future run over.

picture credit: Heathrow