London's Heathrow Airport, which is normally Europe's busiest, had its worst month since the 1980s in March. The decline in passenger numbers was 52 percent, writes the Independent.
According to the newspaper, the traffic decline was worse than during the first Gulf War in 1990, the financial crisis in 2008 and the problems with ash clouds in 2010.
The biggest decline was in traffic between Heathrow and EU countries, which fell by 60 percent. The smallest drop was in traffic to Latin America.
However, according to Heathrow's own forecasts, the passenger decline will be even worse in April. A decline of as much as 90 percent is expected compared to the corresponding month the previous year, which, according to the airport, will have "lasting and significant effects on the industry.".
Despite this, Heathrow is doing better than its competitors in the London region – London City Airport has closed completely while Gatwick is only open eight hours a day.
”Now is the time to agree a common international standard for health checks at airports, so that when this crisis subsides, people have the confidence to travel,” Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said in a comment.
Source: Nyhetsbyrån Direkt
