London’s Heathrow Airport no longer has the claim to fame of being the busiest airport in Europe. Now, the title goes to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, the Associated Press (AP) reports. After the COVID-19 pandemic grounded flights and the UK failed to approve passenger testing, Heathrow’s passenger numbers drastically fell.
The airport expects passenger numbers this year to drop more than they previously forecast.
Yep, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris is now Europe’s busiest airport
“The U.K.’s hub airport is no longer the busiest airport in Europe, competitors such as Charles de Gaulle have exceeded us in terms of passenger numbers as they benefit from a testing regime…” Heathrow said in a statement. “Without a rapid move to testing, the U.K. will fall even further behind its European competitors and the economic recovery will fail to get off the ground.”
The airport’s revenue this year has dropped by 72% compared to 2019. The number of passengers using Heathrow during the first nine months of the year fell 69% to 19 million.
Commercial flights and airlines across the world are suffering due to the pandemic and local quarantine regulations. The travel industry is pushing for passenger testing in a bid to reduce or eliminate the need for quarantines.
