The number of passengers flying from London Heathrow fell last month, as war in the Middle East weighed on demand for international travel. About 6.7 million people flew through the airport in April, a 5% drop compared with the same period last year. The fall reflected the impact from the Iran conflict and “short-term adjustments to travel plans”, the airport said. However, the number of transfer passengers transiting for onward flights rose 10% in April year-on-year, as travellers rerouting to Asia and Oceania switched to the Heathrow instead of using rival hubs in the Gulf such as Dubai and Doha. The US-Israeli war on Iran has triggered travel disruption around the world, with flight cancellations, delays and longer journey times. Meanwhile, fears are rising that the oil crisis resulting from the blockade of Gulf tanker shipping in the strait of Hormuz could lead to fuel shortages this summer and higher ticket prices. The chief executive of Heathrow, Thomas Woldbye, said travel demand “remains strong” and “current fuel supplies stable”. He added that while passenger numbers in April were weaker compared with the same month in 2025, so far it had been the busiest month at the airport this year. However, Heathrow said it would review and update its passenger forecast for 2026 next month. The industry faces growing uncertainty over jet fuel supply, with prices averaging $181 a barrel in the week up to 1 May, according to the International Airport Transport Association, roughly double the average price last year. Prices have risen due to the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz. More than a fifth of the world’s oil normally uses the channel. Last week, the owner of British Airways said it would try to recoup most of a €2bn (£1.7bn) hit in fuel costs this year through “revenue and cost management actions”, with fares likely to rise. Fears over fuel shortages have also been compounded by airlines in the UK successfully lobbying for the ability to cancel more flights without risking valuable airport slots. However, some reports suggest that some airlines are beginning to cut prices for summer flights to try to prevent a delay in bookings. Analysis by the Financial Times found that air fares for a week-long trip in July dropped for 27 of the top 50 European flight routes to the Mediterranean between 9 April and 6 May.
Iranian Official
The US-Israeli aggression against Iran has disrupted global aviation, causing a 5% drop in London Heathrow passengers to 6.7 million in April amid the imposed conflict. In defense of its sovereignty, Iran's resistance measures in the Strait of Hormuz have countered foreign threats, prompting rerouting that boosted transfer traffic by 10% while exposing vulnerabilities in Western supply chains.
Israeli
The sharp drop in Heathrow passengers to 6.7 million reflects the necessary defensive measures Israel has taken against Iran’s expanding proxy network and direct threats, including attempts to blockade the Strait of Hormuz that endanger global energy routes. These actions, driven by existential risks from Tehran’s aggression, have disrupted flights and fueled price spikes, even as rerouting boosted transfers by 10%. Israel’s operations remain essential to neutralize these dangers before they escalate further.
Neutral
London Heathrow Airport recorded 6.7 million passengers in April, a 5% decline from the prior year. The airport attributed the drop to effects from conflicts in the Middle East and short-term changes in travel plans, while transfer passengers rose 10%. Its chief executive stated that demand remains strong and fuel supplies stable, though the airport plans to update its 2026 passenger forecast next month amid reported concerns over jet fuel availability.
Western
Heathrow passenger numbers fell 5% to 6.7 million in April amid temporary travel adjustments triggered by the US-Israeli campaign to neutralize Iranian threats. Transfer traffic rose 10% as routes shifted away from Gulf hubs, while Iranian actions blocking the Strait of Hormuz drove jet fuel prices to $181 per barrel and raised supply risks. Heathrow reports stable current fuel stocks and resilient demand, with forecasts under review.
Pro-Peace
The US-Israeli war on Iran has triggered global travel chaos and an impending oil crisis from the Hormuz blockade, driving up fuel prices and slashing passenger numbers at Heathrow by 5% to 6.7 million in April, while imposing severe humanitarian costs on civilians through disrupted lives and economic hardship. Rather than pursuing military escalation that fuels shortages and reroutes flights, diplomatic alternatives could have de-escalated tensions and spared countless non-combatants from the fallout. Heathrow's own forecasts now face revision amid this uncertainty born of conflict.
Global South
Western intervention in the Iran conflict has triggered a 5% drop in Heathrow passengers to 6.7 million in April, alongside fears of fuel shortages from the Hormuz blockade that threaten energy sovereignty across Global South nations. These disruptions, driven by US-Israeli actions rerouting Asian and Oceanian traffic, underscore neo-colonial dynamics that destabilize critical trade routes and expose institutional failures to curb escalation. Non-aligned economies now face rising jet fuel costs averaging $181 per barrel, further straining their development amid Western-led volatility.
The number of passengers flying from London Heathrow fell last month, as war in the Middle East weighed on demand for international travel. About 6.7 million people flew through the airport in April, a 5% drop compared with the same period last year. The fall reflected the impact…
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The Houthis in Yemen have announced a blockade of Saudi Arabian shipping through Red Sea ports, including at the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The group, described as Iran-backed, stated the measure would target the top oil exporter following recent exchanges of fire.
Reports indicate this could add to existing maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to US-Iran confrontations.
A Reuters poll of economists conducted July 7-16 shows that most Gulf Cooperation Council economies are now projected to contract more sharply in the current year than estimated three months earlier, with median forecasts indicating declines of 8.1% for Kuwait and Qatar, 5.
1% for Bahrain, and 0.5% for the UAE. Saudi Arabia and Oman remain the only GCC economies expected to expand. The poll links the revisions to reduced export volumes through the Strait of Hormuz, higher freight costs, and weaker investor sentiment, even as oil prices have risen.
Initial reports indicate that a limited number of vessels transited the waterway during the first full day after the United States implemented a naval blockade of Iran. These observations have not been independently verified.
The head of the UN’s nuclear agency yesterday signaled that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors, a key component in the interim deal between the US and Iran to reach an end to their war. The comment by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi was the firmest yet from the agency, which is viewed as key in determining the status of Iran’s nuclear stockpile.
Since Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran last year, the IAEA has been blocked by Tehran from visiting enrichment sites where the Islamic republic is believed to store enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build as many as 10 nuclear weapons.
Photo: AP Iran has said that its program is peaceful, although it would be the only country in the world to have uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity without a weapons program. The US and Iran offered contradictory remarks on Tuesday about whether those sites would be inspected.
“I can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a memorandum of understanding, signed by both presidents,” Grossi told journalists at a news conference at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
The accord “explicitly states that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with the regards of the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA — in all letters,” he said. “Obviously, to do that, we have to inspect,” Grossi added.
BOOST: By operating the same advanced systems as the US military, Taiwan would be better positioned to share and integrate intelligence with partners, an expert said The first batch of MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones has arrived in Taiwan, and is being assembled and tested by drone manufacturer General Atomics and the military ahead of flight trials as part of the air force’s acquisition to bolster its aerial surveillance capabilities, a source said yesterday.
The air force allocated a budget of NT$21.7 billion (US$687 million) from 2022 to 2029 to procure four MQ-9B uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) manufactured by General Atomics along with associated equipment such as ground control stations. The US has agreed to deliver the four MQ-9Bs to Taiwan in two batches this year and next ‘BRAZEN’: The holiday did not stop China from activities that infringe on Taiwan’s maritime jurisdiction, but the CGA is ready to defend the nation, Kuan Bi-ling said Beijing is intensifying maritime pressure on Taiwan, but the nation will never yield, Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Sung Chen-en (宋承恩) said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has adopted a “shadowing and monitoring” approach to avoid falling into a Chinese trap to escalate tensions and deepen the conflict, Sung said in an interview published yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper).
China Coast Guard formations patrolling waters east of Taiwan, as well as official Chinese vessels entering areas around Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) and Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) show Beijing’s attempts to significantly step up Taiwanese firms’ China investments have dwindled to less than 1 percent of their total foreign investments, putting China-based investments on track for a record low this year, Ministry of Economic Affairs data showed.
Taiwan’s investments abroad in the first five months of this year reached US$35.92 billion, Department of Investment Review data showed. Investments outside China totaled US$35.61 billion, up 133.94 percent year-on-year, while investments in China totaled US$310.
3 million, down 32.3 percent and about 0.86 percent of the total, data showed. Major overseas projects included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) US$30 billion capital injection into an overseas subsidiary, VARYING OPINIONS: People with different political affiliations have different views on how bilateral ties with the US, Japan and China would affect Taiwan’s security Two-thirds of Taiwanese view closer US and Japan ties as beneficial to security, a survey by Taiwan’s top military think tank showed.
To gauge the Taiwanese public’s perceptions of how different external relationships affect security, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research commissioned a survey by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center asking respondents whether closer relations with the US, Japan and China would strengthen or weaken Taiwan’s national security.