Heathrow Airport has said it is preparing for its busiest ever Christmas Day.
The West London airport expects the number of passengers travelling through its terminals on December 25 to be 21% higher than on the same day last year.
It also predicts that passenger numbers for the month as a whole will exceed the previous record of 6.7 million in 2023.
The airport made the forecast after confirming it served 6.5 million passengers last month.
That was up 6.1% from the same month last year, marking its busiest ever November.
The total volume of cargo handled by Heathrow in the first 11 months of the year was 11.2% higher than in the same period in 2023.
It attributed this to an increase in the cargo capacity of modern aircraft and strong demand.
Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: “This year has been all about providing high levels of service for record amounts of passengers at Heathrow, and November was no different.
“As we embrace the festive season, our focus remains on ensuring smooth, joyful journeys – whether it is helping passengers get away for Christmas to reunite with their loved ones, or making sure cargo reaches its destination on time.”
Meanwhile, North Air fuel tanker drivers at Edinburgh Airport will strike over the Christmas season in a pay row which could affect flights.
Tanker drivers from the plane-fuelling company at the airport will strike for 19 days from 5am on December 18 to 4.59am on January 6, Unite the Union announced.
Unite had warned of strikes over the festive period if North Air failed to provide an improved pay deal, after an offer of a 4.5% rise was rejected.
The union said its members “overwhelmingly backed strike action in a drive to secure a better pay offer from North Air”.
A North Air spokesperson said the company is “disappointed” with the strike plan but open to further pay talks and is working to “minimise the impact of any strike action over the festive period”.
An Edinburgh Airport spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that the two parties cannot reach a solution and urge them to continue discussions.
“We’re working with our airlines to understand their contingencies to minimise passenger disruption.”
