BBC News Online: Business

BAA sees no pick-up in air users

Passenger numbers fell by 20% at Heathrow last month

The seven UK airports run by the company saw passenger numbers drop by 12% in October, compared to the same month last year.

Flights across the North Atlantic continued to be the worst affected routes, with Heathrow and Gatwick seeing the biggest fall in traffic.

The company said the trend of 12% fewer passengers had remained stable since the terrorist attacks in the US.

North Atlantic routes suffer

BAA said North Atlantic and some other long-haul routes were bearing the brunt of the downturn in air use.

North Atlantic route numbers were down 31.3%, and other long-haul traffic was 16.4% lower than in October last year.

This meant BAA's Heathrow and Gatwick airports suffered, seeing passenger falls of 20.1% and 12.7% respectively.

But Stansted, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports all saw a rise in air user numbers, helped by competition among the low cost airlines.

Industry crisis

The drop in the number of people flying since 11 September has plunged the world's airline industry into crisis.

More than 100,000 jobs have been cut worldwide as companies try to trim costs, and last week the Belgian airline Sabena became the first European flag-carrier to go bankrupt.

When it released interim results last month, BAA said it was also looking to make cost reductions.