Heathrow Airport dismisses eariler return to pre-pandemic level of demands

Britain's biggest airport Heathrow said on October 26 that its loss over nine months of this year increased to 442 million pounds ($507 million) as it warned it was unlikely to return to pre-pandemic demand for several years.

"Headwinds of a global economic crisis, the war in Ukraine and the impact of COVID-19 mean we are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic demand for a number of years, except at peak times," it said, Reuters reports.

The loss for the nine months to September 30 added to losses of 4 billion pounds ($4.6 billion) in the prior two years as regulated income failed to cover costs.

As travel rebounded from pandemic lows, revenue trebled to 2.1 billion pounds ($2.4 billion).

Heathrow forecasted that total passenger numbers for 2022 would reach between 60 to 62 million, about 25% fewer than in 2019.

Earlier this month, Heathrow warned of a possible slowdown in travel demand this winter due to the deteriorating economic outlook, the impact of a new wave of COVID-19 and the escalating situation in Ukraine.