Heathrow served a record number of passengers in February as 5.8m people flew through the UK airport last month.

Winter sun won over the ski slopes with nearly two thirds of travellers landing somewhere warmer than London.

Even before the leap year lift of 207,000 passengers on 29 February, Heathrow is on track to serve more passengers this year than ever before.

Meanwhile, cargo tonnage is 21% up on 2023, outperforming European comparators and the global average of 8%.

The latest route additions to the airport include more services to the very north of the UK with Loganair, BA routes to Abu Dhabi, Kos and Izmir, a new Virgin Atlantic service to Bangalore and the return of Vueling to Barcelona and Paris (Orly), in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Heathrow Airport says the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt missed the opportunity to back British business at the Spring Budget, prioritising short-term decisions over policies that would deliver jobs and economic growth by raising taxes on aviation.

Heathrow CEO, Thomas Woldbye, said: "It was wonderful to welcome so many passengers for the first holiday peak of 2024, setting a new Heathrow record.

"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.

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"The Spring Budget was a missed opportunity to give the whole tourism, hospitality and retail sector the support it needs to compete internationally."