Heathrow welcomed a record 6.76 million passengers in June, up 2.3 per cent from June 2016, and boosting the number of passengers travelling through the UK’s hub in the past 12 months to 77 million for the first time in history. 

The airport also hit a daily record, with 259,917 passengers flying through on June 30th, the airport’s busiest day ever.

Long-haul markets remain strong with passenger numbers to the Middle East and East Asia growing by almost ten per cent and more than five per cent respectively.

Airlines on these routes are making the most of their slots by switching to larger aircraft and increasing their load factors. 

Travel to regional destinations also grew, with newcomer FlyBe increasing its domestic share and flying 22,000 more passengers to Scottish destinations this month.

Secretary of state Chris Grayling recently reaffirmed the government’s commitment to Heathrow expansion, saying the project enjoys widespread political support.

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “Our record breaking year, month and day figures show Heathrow continues to be the trade and tourist gateway to all of the UK.

“To keep Britain competitive, we need expansion to build more connections for British passengers and exporters and we are glad to see the government pushing forward on the next stages of the delivery. 

“Together we are showing the world the UK remains open for business.”