British Airways’ half-year earnings have increased despite a £40 million hit from the closure of Heathrow in March after a substation fire, as the airline ramped up its flight programme.
The carrier reported a 48% rise in underlying operating profits to £824 million for the six months to June 30, up from £555 million a year ago.
Owner International Airlines Group (IAG) said earnings were driven higher at British Airways as it increased flight capacity by 2.1% and boosted passenger revenues.
The wider IAG company, which also owns Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling, posted a 43.5% rise in earnings to £1.88 billion for the first half of 2025.
Pre-tax profits at IAG rose sharply to £1.75 billion from £1.05 billion a year ago.
Travel demand drives growth
IAG chief executive Luis Gallego said: “Our strong performance in the first half of 2025 reflects the resilience of demand for travel and the success of our ongoing transformation, underpinned by the fundamental strengths of our group."
Gallego said the company also continues to benefit from a "structural shift in consumer spending towards travel."
“We remain focused on our market-leading brands and core geographies, where we continue to see robust performance, allowing us to invest in fleet as well as technology to improve operational efficiency and customer experience."
British Airways announced in May that costs of the Heathrow closure earlier this year had run up to £40 million.
The temporary closure was caused by a power outage after a blaze at the North Hyde substation in west London, with more than 270,000 air passenger journeys disrupted by the incident.
In the first-half figures, BA owner IAG said it was “confident in delivering good earnings growth” for the group over the full-year.
(PA/London) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
