Heathrow passenger numbers up 1.4 percent in 2014

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Britain's Heathrow reported a 1.4 percent growth in passenger numbers in 2014, helped by bigger, fuller airplanes rather than new flights, prompting the country's biggest airport to repeat its call to be allowed to expand.

Heathrow operates at about 98 percent capacity and struggles to add new flights. It is at the centre of a political tussle over airport expansion in the south-east of England and has been shortlisted as a location for a new runway.

"The airport is full and opportunities for airlines to start new routes to fast growing markets are constrained...resulting in important traffic flows bypassing the UK in turn undermining the UK's ability to access key emerging markets," the airport said in a statement on Monday.

The airport, whose biggest shareholder is Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial, reported a 10.3 percent rise in core earnings to 1.57 billion pounds for 2014 compared to the year earlier period as traffic grew to 73.4 million passengers.

(Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)