The Heathrow airport in west London claimed to have seen the biggest increase in travellers among all European airports in 2022.
61.6 million people used the airport in 2022, an increase of 42.2 million from 2021.
After the UK lifted all travel restrictions related to the coronavirus in March of last year, after having some of the strictest regulations in Europe by 2021, it saw a spike in passenger numbers.
In comparison to December 2021, there were 5.9 million passengers who passed through the airport, an increase of 90%.
The busiest route was New York JFK.
Heathrow said arriving travellers reported a “friendly and efficient journey through immigration” as armed forces personnel and volunteer civil servants manned passport desks during a strike by Border Force officers.
Even though there were more passengers in 2022, demand was only 76% higher than it was before the virus.
The reintroduction of coronavirus testing for visitors arriving from China in the UK and elsewhere “could be set back,” the airport warned, “even though governments acknowledge there is no scientific basis for doing so.”
In 2022, Heathrow was one of the airports that experienced significant disruption as the aviation industry struggled to deal with a staffing shortage.
Offering “excellent service remains our key priority for 2023,” it stated.