UK airports operator reports passenger boost

BAA said today it handled a total of 10.6 million passengers in November, a year-on-year increase of 2.1% despite a slowdown at Heathrow.

Gatwick and BAA’s three Scottish airports drove the growth and offset a 2.1% dip in numbers at Heathrow, where operations were affected by increased security measures following the alleged terror plot in August.

European scheduled traffic showed growth of 4.4% in the month, while non-North Atlantic long-haul demand rose by 5.8% on a year earlier. Transatlantic traffic fell 3.7%, but domestic business was up 0.3%, BAA added.

Of BAA’s individual airports, Gatwick handled a total of 2.15 million passengers – an increase of 8% on a year earlier. Stansted rose by 3%, while Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen achieved rises of 5.7%, 4.6% and 17.4% respectively – resulting in combined growth of 7.1% north of the border.

Heathrow’s passenger numbers were down 2.1% to 5.09 million. Southampton continues to grow – up 9.9% as it handled 146,300 passengers last month.

BAA is now owned by Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial after it completed its £10.3bn (€15.2bn) acquisition in the summer.

The business is currently awaiting a ruling from the Office of Fair Trading about whether it will order a full-blown inquiry into BAA’s ownership of the three biggest airports serving London.

BAA’s airline customers have pushed hard for a full Competition Commission investigation.