Heathrow passenger numbers hit record high in July

The airport said 27 July was its busiest day on record

Heathrow said passenger numbers hit a record high in July as it reiterated its argument for expansion.

The UK's busiest airport said passenger numbers totalled 6.97 million passengers last month, up 0.5% on July 2013.

The month included its busiest ever day on 27 July when 239,928 passengers travelled through the airport.

"Only Heathrow can deliver daily. Gatwick can't, Heathrow can," said Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye.

The airport said passenger traffic with Mexico was up 15.4%, while traffic with China rose 10.4%.

It said it expected traffic with China to increase further when Air China doubled its service to Beijing from October.

The airport is at the centre of a long running debate over expanding the UK's airport capacity.

A third runway at Heathrow, the lengthening of an existing runway at Heathrow or a new runway at Gatwick are all being considered.

The Airports Commission, charged with deciding how to expand UK air capacity, is due to report after 2015.