Britain's Heathrow Airport on Friday lowered its 2026 passenger forecast and warned that profit could shrink this ‌year, citing uncertainty in global ​travel demand and pressure from the Middle East conflict.

The war has had ⁠an outsized impact on global aviation because ​of the Middle East's position at the ⁠crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, dealing a blow to major airports that depend heavily on long-haul ‌connecting traffic. Heathrow now expects between 80.1 ​million and ‌84.5 million passengers in 2026, a 1.1% decline year-on-year and ‌down from an earlier forecast of around 85 million passengers.

The company also expects adjusted ⁠core profit to ‌decline by £147 million ($194.03 ⁠million) compared to 2025 and £60 million versus its ⁠December ⁠forecast, driven by a weaker traffic outlook and higher employment costs.

"This ‌reflects the risk that continued volatility in the Middle East could dampen broader traffic volumes, ‌with ​impacts extending beyond ‌the region to global travel demand over the remainder of the year," Heathrow ​said in a statement.

($1 = £0.7576)