BAA Airports Handle 12.7 Million Passengers in May
The seven BAA airports handled 12.7 million passengers in May 2008, according to figures released by the airport operator.
The figure was a slight drop of 0.5% on the figures for the same month in 2007.
Passengers on UK domestic services from the seven airports run by the group - the three main London airports at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted; three Scottish airports at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen; and regional hub Southampton - fell by 5.3% on May last year, and passengers on European charter flights decreased by 2.5%.
Individual airports' performance varied. Heathrow and Gatwick both recorded saw more passengers than the same month a year ago, with 0.6% more passengers at Heathrow and 1.1% more passengers at Gatwick in the month just gone compared to May 2007.
Passenger Figures at Southampton Airport
Stansted's passenger total for May decreased by 3.3% (to 2.02 million), but passenger figures at Southampton Airport were more impressive. In the 12 months to the end of May, the number of passengers travelling through the south coast airport incrased by 6.9% to 0.19 million.
BAA's airports handled 1.1% fewer air transport movements than in the same month a year ago, but key specific markets all saw modest increases over the year.
European scheduled flights from the seven airports increased by 0.9%, North Atlantic services by 0.5% and other long-haul flights by 1.2%.
Edinburgh Airport International Passenger Numbers
There were impressive figures recorded by the three Scottish airports over the year to the end of May. During that time, domestic and international passenger numbers at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen totalled 21.1 million - an increase of half a million.
Edinburgh Airport international passenger numbers rose by 6.7% to 8.7 million in the 12 months to May - although domestic passenger numbers fell by 2.8%.
However, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports reported year-on-year falls in the number of passengers they handled. Aberdeen's traffic was 1.3% lower than a year ago, while Glasgow's declined by 9.1%.
BAA said the economic squeeze, resulting in consolidation in the industry by airlines and reduced capacity, was to blame for the traffic fall at Glasgow and Aberdeen. It said Glasgow in particular had been hit hard by cutting-back by airlines on the North Atlantic and charter services, which are key markets at the airport.
The group said it was confident that growth at the three Scottish airports could continue. BAA Scotland spokesman Donald Morrison said the company's Scottish airports will introduce 35 new routes during 2008, with 150 destinations served across the three sites.
Source - Airport International's Aviation Correspondent
Recent Related News Items:
BAA Airports -
Heathrow, Stansted Airport Expansion 'Should Be Delayed'
BAA 'Better Placed' to Deliver UK Airport Improvements
Further Resources:
Products & Services -
Companies supplying Passenger Flow
