Passenger numbers at Heathrow climbed to 7.7 million in July, up 21.4% on the previous year, as Britons tried to flee bad weather back home.
Despite the strong growth, the numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels.
Visitor numbers to Turkey hit an all-time high with more than 73,000 passengers, while Portugal, Gibraltar and Italy also saw near-record numbers.
John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive of Heathrow Airport, said: “It’s great to see so many passengers heading out to enjoy the summer sun. We have a range of popular destinations and our team deliver an excellent service , to make sure your trip gets off to the best possible start.”
After being hit hard by strikes and flight cancellations over Easter and the May bank holiday, Heathrow boasted much better services during the summer holidays.
“It’s a great start to summer passenger services,” it said. “With security queues consistently under five minutes, passengers can travel stress-free and enjoy over 300 retail and dining options at Heathrow.”
New York remains the most popular destination.
The European Union remained the most popular destination group, but passenger growth was slower at 15.6% to 2.6 million. North America followed with 2 million passengers.
The fastest-growing flights are again flights to the Asia-Pacific region, which has imposed stricter pandemic travel restrictions for most of 2022. The number of passengers increased by 72.9% to 951,000.
Howland-Kay will leave later this year, but no specific date has been announced.
