London's Heathrow airport warned on Tuesday that it will remain in deficit this year because air traffic is expected to remain much lower than before the pandemic, weighed down by the war in Ukraine and inflation, among other things.
Read alsoHeathrow: traffic still 50% lower than before the pandemic but optimism for the summer
In April, London airport welcomed 5 million passengers - compared to just 2.8 million in February - and now expects travel demand to pick up throughout the summer, it said in a statement.
Heathrow is therefore increasing its 2022 traffic forecast from 45.5 million passengers to nearly 53 million for the current year, or 65% of the level of 2019, before the pandemic, when Heathrow traffic had reached a record.
In addition to the uncertainties generated by the war in Ukraine and inflation which is undermining the disposable income of potential travellers, the UK airport also cites "
high fuel costs and travel restrictions still in place for key markets such as the United States ".
States as well as the possibility of a new variant
” of coronavirus.
Heathrow cites the largest airline using its infrastructure, British Airways, which said last week it expects traffic to return to just 74% of pre-pandemic levels this year.
"
All of this combined with the Bank of England's announcement last week that inflation is expected to top 10% and that the UK economy is likely to fall into recession means that we are taking the realistic assumption of demand travel to 65% of its pre-pandemic levels for the rest of the year
”, argues the press release.
"
If I am encouraged by the increase in the number of passengers, (...) there are many difficulties in front of us
", commented the director general of Heathrow John Holland-Kaye.
Read alsoHeathrow: the number of passengers falls further in 2021
Britain's Heathrow Airport said in February that its passenger traffic remained 50% lower than before the pandemic, but was optimistic for the summer and forecast 12,000 hires.
Tuesday in its press release, the airport also underlines that despite the acceleration of traffic, it maintains a good level of passenger service with passages through rapid security services, while other airports are currently facing queues. endless waits, like the one in Manchester.