A record number of passengers flew from Heathrow in February with travellers seeking out the sun over the winter half term.
Just under 5.8m people flew from the West London airport in February, up around 12 per cent on last year.
But passengers were not hitting the ski slopes over half term. Instead more than two thirds of travellers landed somewhere warmer than London.
There was strong growth in traffic to the EU, which grew 9.9 per cent year-on-year, while traffic to North America increased 7.6 per cent.
Travel to Asia/Pacific saw the strongest proportional gain, with traffic climbing 23.8 per cent to 854,00.
The airport said it is on track for a record year with flights in the year-to-date up 10.4 per cent on last year.
Cargo traffic also saw an increase, rising 21.6 per cent year-on-year with a 45.5 per cent annual increase from Asia/Pacific.
“It was wonderful to welcome so many passengers for the first holiday peak of 2024, setting a new Heathrow record,” Thomas Woldbye, chief executive, said.
“While we are serving more people, visitors to the UK are spending less since the removal of tax-free shopping, impacting businesses across the country,” he continued.
Woldbye also argued that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had “missed the opportunity” to back British business in the Spring Budget.
Hunt increased rates of Air Passenger Duty (APD) in a “one-off adjustment” to account for the impact of inflation. APD is levied by airlines on passengers who start their journeys at UK airports. The duty is unique to Britain and raises around £3.8bn per year.