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London’s Heathrow airport has raised the prospect of paying its first dividend in four years following a record-breaking summer.
The airport said on Wednesday that its peak summer season was boosted by passengers transiting through the hub on the way to the Paris Olympics and travelling to music events. “Iconic music stars passing through the UK caused a late summer spike in departures,” the airport said.
As a result, Heathrow said a dividend payout was “probable”, though it cautioned one was not at present planned.
Heathrow last paid its owners a £107mn dividend in February 2020, just before Covid-19 and border closures severely disrupted global aviation. This was used to fund £100mn in dividends for its ultimate shareholders.
The airport’s ownership underwent its most significant change in nearly two decades in 2024, when Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial sold the vast majority of its stake. Private equity group Ardian and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund agreed to buy a 38 per cent stake for £3.3bn in June, with several smaller shareholders also selling.
Heathrow on Wednesday raised its forecast for annual passenger numbers to 83.8mn, up from its previous forecast of 82.4mn in March.
The airport said the summer was its busiest ever, with record-breaking passenger numbers in each of June, July, August and September. More than 30mn passengers flew through Heathrow over the period.
Almost all the airport’s markets exceeded last year’s numbers, with double-digit growth for the UK and the Asia-Pacific region.
“This summer has tested our colleagues, infrastructure and airlines to co-operate harder than ever before, with record numbers of passengers travelling through the busiest two runway airport in the world,” Heathrow’s chief executive Thomas Woldbye said.
Pre-tax profit for the nine months to the end of September rose 13 per cent year on year to £696mn.
Heathrow bosses are working on a new plan to expand the airport but are prioritising comparatively minor infrastructure improvements to incrementally increase its capacity before deciding on whether to push ahead with long-standing and controversial plans for a third runway.
The airport is limited to 480,000 flights a year, but improving infrastructure and encouraging airlines to use larger planes would allow more passengers to fly without breaching the cap.
