Strike and terrorism behind fall in Heathrow numbers

Airports operator BAA today blamed the London bombings and a wildcat strike by catering staff for fewer passengers passing through Heathrow Airport last year.

BAA, which owns seven UK airports including Gatwick, also pointed the finger at a softening national economy and higher oil prices for the drop.

A total of 67.4 million people passed through the four terminals at Heathrow during the year to March, down 0.3% on 12 months earlier.

In contrast, Gatwick had its best year on record with 3.28 million passengers passing through the airport, 2.6% higher than the previous year.

The boom in low-cost travel benefited its other UK airports such as Stansted, meaning that BAA handled 144.6 million people over the past 12 months, up 2% on the previous year.

But cancellations caused by heavy snow in Scotland and the north-east of England, combined with Easter falling later than last year, meant BAA saw passenger numbers fall by 1.3% in March to 11.4 million.