Passenger numbers up at BAA airports

BAA, the airport operator that runs Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, enjoyed its busiest ever month in August.

Passenger numbers increase by almost 6 per cent to 15.2 million compared to August 2006, with Scottish airports performing particularly strongly.

At Aberdeen, passenger traffic was up by 13 per cent to 316,000, at Edinburgh numbers were up by 10 per cent to 894,000 and at Glasgow they rose by 0.5 per cent to 869,000.

London airports were also busy, with passenger traffic at Heathrow increasing by 6.5 per cent to 6.4 million, at Gatwick by 4 per cent to 3.9 million, and at Stansted by 7 per cent to 2.5 million.

In terms of destinations, it was North America that saw the largest increase in traffic. On routes to the US and Canada passenger numbers were up by 10 per cent, with European scheduled traffic increasing by 6 per cent over the month.

Figures from the Association of British Travel Agents indicate that nearly two million Britons went abroad for the August bank holiday weekend. Turkey and the Canary Islands were among the most popular destinations.

© Adfero Ltd