• 7.5m passengers travelled through Heathrow in August, as we became the London airport of choice for passengers wanting a smooth journey this summer.

• Passengers checked in more bags than ever before, and our baggage support team went the extra mile to help airline handlers get bags away on time.

• Passenger satisfaction was higher than pre-pandemic, reflecting the investment the airport, airlines and their ground handlers have made in recruiting and training over 25,000 new colleagues in the last two years. This extra resilience meant that while flights at Heathrow were impacted by the UK-wide air traffic restrictions in August, operations quickly returned to normal.

• Security wait times averaged only 1.5 minutes in August. Passengers used the extra time in the airport to stock up on food as Pret A Manger sold nearly 1m sandwiches this summer. Others indulged in retail therapy to get 'beach ready', with a pair of sunglasses sold every two minutes.

• Passengers and the UK's supply chain have a growing list of destinations to choose from. With travel restrictions lifted, Heathrow now has more flights to more destinations in China than any other European hub. LATAM has confirmed the UK's only direct service to Peru will take off from Heathrow on 1 December.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: "I am very proud of the way colleagues across Team Heathrow made sure that passengers had a super start to their summer holidays, with record levels of passenger satisfaction and average security queue times of less than two minutes - Heathrow is back to its best."

Note to editors: All percentages indicate change against same period 12 months previous. Next month's passenger traffic is expected to exceed pre-covid levels in a year-to-year monthly comparison. This is a result of industrial action in 2019 which dampened demand. Annual figures will remain below pre-pandemic levels.