BUSINESS LIVE: GDP jumps 0.8%; Heathrow traffic remains depressed

BUSINESS LIVE: British GDP growth beats expectations; Heathrow traffic still half of 2019 levels; Avast exits Russia and Belarus

Britain’s economy rebounded more quickly than expected in January, jumping 0.8 per cent compared to forecasts of 0.2 per cent, fresh figures show.

Office for National Statistics data published on Friday shows the economy bounced back from its omicron-variant-driven lull in December, with all sectors contributing to growth in January.

Passenger numbers at London’s Heathrow remained around 50 per cent below their pre-pandemic levels in February, with only 2.8 million passengers, which is 15 per cent below the airport’s forecast.

Heathrow said demand had been weakened by testing and quarantine requirements, but that it also faced ‘headwinds’ from higher fuel prices, airspace closures and ‘concerns from US travellers over war in Europe’.

FTSE 100-listed antivirus tech firm Avast withdrawn the availability of its products from Russia and Belarus, and suspended all marketing and sales operations in the countries.

The loss of trade from the two countries will cost Avast around of 1.5 per cent of annual revenue, which came in at £941.1million in 2021.

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Passenger numbers at London’s Heathrow remain well below pre-pandemic levels and headwinds are mounting for Britain’s airport hub



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