Heathrow has claimed that contraints on growth are driving passengers to rival airports, as the hub awaits the outcome of an independent commission into further runways.
Despite a 9% rise in revenues and 1.4% more passengers year-on-year, Heathrow said that its growth rate was less than half that of Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam Schiphol and Madrid.
Absolute flight numbers are at their limit at Heathrow, where only bigger, fuller planes can deliver more passengers.
Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “We’re seeing ourselves being overhauled by European competitors in terms of growth; they are taking what we could have.
“Paris has now overtaken us in the numbers of long-haul destinations served, they have added flights to North and South America and Asia that we haven’t been able to. Everything we’ve said has been borne out in the growth figures. We’re losing a battle we should be winning.”
He claimed that the campaign for a third runway was now receiving strong support locally and nationally, with trade unions, businesses and politicians backing Heathrow.
“We’ve got the backing where it matters,” he said. “We keep building support and want to keep building momentum. There’s indication from the major parties that they want to get on with it and that’s what we want to see too.”
The airports commission, led by Howard Davies, will deliver its recommendation on whether Heathrow or Gatwick should get an additional runway after the general election.
Holland-Kaye said the airport was entering a more modest period for investment, unless approval was granted for a new third runway.
However, he said that Heathrow was starting to see the benefits of a decade of heavy investment culminating in the opening of Terminal 2, with international benchmarking now putting them ahead of Amsterdam’s Schiphol for the first time as the best European hub in terms of customer service scores.
He said the airport would continue to take out costs, as operating profits dropped 10% to £839m on revenues of £2.7bn in 2014.
Holland-Kaye pointed to a 10% increase in EBITDA or underlying profit to £1.57bn, although after accounting adjustments for pensions, depreciation and refinancing, the airport recorded a loss of £95m.
