THE new board of the Dublin Airport Authority has been asked by Transport Minister Séamus Brennan to consider incorporating a second independent terminal at the airport into its business plan.

A former chief executive of the British Airports Authority (BAA), Mike Hodgkinson, is expected to be announced as a director of the newly formed Dublin airport company this week.

BAA says it expects passenger traffic to pick up later this year as the aviation industry emerges from the "toughest conditions for a decade".

BAA has announced an €13bn investment programme at London's three main airports.

The lingering impact of foot-and-mouth disease will mean that Britain’s major airports see only a small increase in passenger numbers this summer, operator BAA said today.