The power cut to Heathrow on 21 March and decision to shut down almost all operations at the airport caused passenger numbers to fall in the first quarter of 2025.
A fire at the North Hyde substation, which feeds electricity to Heathrow, led to the near-complete closure of the UK’s busiest airport.
More than 1,400 flights were cancelled and at least 250,000 passengers had their travel plans wrecked as a result of the closure.
Passenger numbers for the three months between January and March 2025 dropped by 300,000 compared with a year earlier.
The airport said in its results announcement: “Passenger demand in the first quarter of 2025 remained level with last year’s record performance, despite the busy Easter holidays falling in Q2 [April to June] this year and the leap year in 2024.”
Heathrow says it is still on course to handle record numbers of passengers in 2025.
Of concern will be a fall in both the average size of aircraft serving Heathrow and the “load factor” (proportion of seats occupied).
The Independent has calculated the figures reveal a reduction of three fewer passengers on the average flight to and from the airport. In 2024 the typical plane had 166 passengers; this year the figure is 163.
Punctuality increased sharply, with four out of five flights departing and arriving within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
Sally Ding, Heathrow’s chief financial officer, said: “2025 will be a pivotal year for Heathrow as we finalise our business plan for the next five years and submit our proposals to government to unlock new capacity at the UK’s gateway to growth.
“Our focus on steadily improving operational performance is yielding results, and our future plans will enable us to deliver better value and more growth for our customers and the country.”
Two reviews into the 21 March shutdown are due to report initial findings in May. Heathrow has asked a non-executive director, Ruth Kelly, to see what lessons can be learnt; the National Energy System Operator is investigating the resilience of power supplies to critical infrastructure.
Airlines’ representatives have argued that the decision to close completely – save for a very limited reopening late in the day – was excessively cautious. The closure cost them up to £100m.
Just before the Heathrow shutdown, the airport paid a £250m dividend to shareholders – who are led by the Qatari and Saudi sovereign wealth funds and a French private equity fund, Ardian. It was the first dividend in five years.
