Heathrow Airport’s strong growth has continued into April with cargo growing 8.6 per cent to 137,979 tonnes.

Exports grew by 12 per cent in April, with Latin America seeing the strongest growth at 27 per cent, Asia up 19 per cent, with Europe up 11 per cent, while North America, the most important market, grew 14 per cent.

Cargo volumes have grown 7.6 per cent to 537,461 tonnes in the first four months of 2017 and by 5.1 per cent to 1.58 million tonnes on a rolling 12-month basis.

Heathrow Airport chief executive officer, John Holland-Kaye says the strong growth shows why it needs a third runway, saying: “Britain’s exports outside the EU are thriving and with Heathrow expansion opening up to 40 new long-haul trading links, the scale of the opportunity across the globe is tremendous.

“We’re working around-the-clock to deliver Britain’s new runway and secure the country’s future as a global trading powerhouse.”

Heathrow will be gaining a new Chinese link in the summer with flights to Qingdao, operated by Beijing Capital Airlines, providing about 4,000 tonnes of cargo capacity a year.