London’s Heathrow airport has recorded a net annual loss of £2 billion in 2020, as a result of the huge impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the aviation sector.
This is as 2020, which has been identified as one of Heathrow’s most challenging year has a record of passengers’ level not seen since the 1970s.
These records are contained in a public statement on the company’s website.
The statement explained that the number of passengers dropped to 22.1m, more than half of the numbers that travelled in January and February. It pointed out that the overall revenue fell 62 percent to £1.2bn and adjusted earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell to £270m.
The company said to weather the storm, realizing that airports have very high fixed costs, it acted quickly to cut gross operating costs by nearly £400m, reduced capital expenditure by £700m and raised £2.5bn in funding including a £600m capital injection. The firm ended the year with £3.9bn of liquidity, enough to see us through until 2023.
The airport which is one of the busiest in the world reported a 28 percent decline in cargo volumes, showing the cost to the economy of shutting down aviation.
John Holland-Kaye, the Chief Executive Officer of Heathrow, said, “We can be hopeful for 2021, with Britain on the cusp of becoming the first country in the world to safely resume international travel and trade at scale. Getting aviation moving again will save thousands of jobs and reinvigorate the economy.”
He added, “2020 has been one of our most challenging years – but despite £2bn of losses and shrinking to passenger levels we haven’t seen since the 70s, I am hugely proud of the way that our colleagues have kept our passengers safe and the UK’s hub airport open for vital supplies throughout. We can be hopeful for 2021, with Britain on the cusp of becoming the first country in the world to safely resume international travel and trade at scale.
