Security costs blamed for BAA losses

Airports operator British Airport Authority today counted the cost of tighter security measures and money spent on the troubled launch of Heathrow's Terminal 5 as it reported a £51m (€64.2m) operating loss for the first three months of the year.

BAA - majority owned by Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial - blamed the plummeting earnings, which fell from £107m (€134.6m) in profits last year, on its efforts to step up security and maintenance at UK airports.