Last month was U.K. Heathrow Airport's busiest ever month for flights to Türkiye, with more than 73,000 people flying to the country, it said on Friday.

Overall foreign travel saw a resurgence in July as Heathrow said 7.7 million passengers traveled through the airport in the month.

That is up 22% on the total of 6.3 million during the same month last year and is just 1% below the figure of 7.8 million recorded in July 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic.

The year-over-year surge in passenger numbers last month was driven by fights to and from Asia (up 129%) and North America (up 77%).

Travel to those regions was limited a year earlier, partly because their pandemic restrictions lasted longer than in some other parts of the world.

Apart from resurgent flights to Türkiye, Heathrow also saw near-record levels of departures to Portugal, Italy and Gibraltar.

The West London airport reported a "strong start to the summer season for passenger service," with security lines "consistently under five minutes."

Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: "It's great to see so many passengers getting away to grab some summer sun. We've got a great range of popular destinations and our teams are delivering excellent service which will ensure your travels get off to the best start."