Heathrow airport plans to pay its owners a dividend for the first time since the pandemic, as it reported record passenger numbers ahead of a new tilt at building a third runway.
The airport said on Wednesday that it would pay a dividend of £250mn to its shareholders in the coming weeks — its first payout since just before the pandemic struck in February 2020.
Passenger numbers at the UK’s only hub airport increased 6 per cent to 83.9mn in 2024, and pre-tax profits rose by 31 per cent to £917mn.
With its two runways operating close to capacity, Heathrow said it hoped “larger and fuller planes” would allow for more growth in 2025, but warned that “constrained capacity will likely see a smaller uptick in annual performance”.
Its group of international investor owners include French private equity group Ardian and the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Heathrow is pushing ahead with plans to build a third runway after the government signalled its support for the controversial project earlier this year.
The airport has said it will provide a detailed proposal to the government by the summer, and would aim to submit a formal planning application by the end of this parliament in 2029.
It has also outlined plans to improve and extend its existing infrastructure to allow passenger numbers to increase from 85mn to 100mn, regardless of whether a third runway is built.
“Securing future economic growth means investing in the infrastructure that powers it,” chief executive Thomas Woldbye.
This is a developing story