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CEO John Holland-Kaye: Heathrow airport coming back to life after 2 years

CEO John Holland-Kaye: Heathrow airport coming back to life after 2 years

THE PASSENGER traffic at London's Heathrow Airport in March this year was the highest since the pandemic began, driven by outbound leisure travel and the removal of all Covid restrictions.

Heathrow, however, said in a statement on Monday (11) that inbound leisure and business travel had remained weak due to high levels of coronavirus in the country, and testing requirements for travellers leaving the country.

"It is fantastic to see the airport coming back to life after two years," CEO John Holland-Kaye said, after what the airport described as a very weak January and February.

Heathrow added that it was unclear whether the current surge in leisure demand was sustainable due to concerns over potential new variants, high fuel prices, low economic growth and the impact of Russia's evasion of Ukraine.

Many airports have struggled to recruit enough staff in time to meet demand in Britain and Heathrow said it was increasing resources as quickly as possible, with 12,000 new starters planned across the airport.

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Black Friday

KPMG suggested that cash-strapped households would continue to be cautious as unemployment rises to 5.2 per cent

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UK shoppers stay away from high streets on Black Friday

Highlights

  • High street footfall down 7.2 per cent compared to Black Friday last year amid cost of living pressures.
  • KPMG predicts subdued 1 per cent GDP growth for 2026 as households remain cautious.
  • Business confidence near record lows with hospitality sector warning of "extinction event".
UK shoppers held back from visiting high streets over Black Friday, with footfall data revealing growing concerns about weak consumer spending that could hamper economic growth in 2026.

Visitors to all UK shopping destinations fell 2 per cent on Friday and 7.2 per cent compared with the equivalent days last year, according to monitoring company MRI Software. Only locations near central London offices experienced increased visits.

Jenni Matthews from MRI told the Guardian "The cost of living squeeze appears to be weighing on overall activity." The lacklustre figures emerged as consultancy KPMG warned that soft consumer spending would hold back the economy over the next 12 months.

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