BAA's UK airports handled 10.6 million passengers in August, a reduction of 0.6% on the same month last year.
Heathrow recorded its busiest ever August, and second busiest month on record, with 2.5% more people (6.5m) making journeys through the UK's hub.
Relative to other UK airports, Heathrow benefited from its greater exposure to the business travel sector, while the other UK airports in the Group depend more on the currently weak UK outbound leisure market, which continues to be adversely affected by the continuing economic uncertainty that has led to casualties among smaller UK tour operators.
The main driver of growth at Heathrow is European scheduled traffic, which was up by 10.4% on the back of an 8.3% increase in seat capacity compared with August 2009. At Stansted, reductions in airline seat capacity contributed to a 6.1% drop in passengers carried. Glasgow also saw a sharp decrease in capacity (-8.4%) which is the major factor behind a 9.4% drop in passengers.
Edinburgh's traffic reduced by 0.2% overall, but European traffic grew by 9.4%. Aberdeen and Southampton recorded decreases of 4.0% and 1.0% respectively.
In total, BAA's UK airports handled 0.5% more air transport movements (landings and take-offs) than a year earlier (Heathrow 3.5%) and a total of 13.7% more cargo tonnage, with Heathrow up by 14.3%.
Cargo tonnage at BAA's UK airports is now 2.8% above its pre-recession peak, reflecting the strength of recovery in the air cargo market.
For further information please contact: -
BAA
Media enquiries - Malcolm Robertson Tel. 020 8745 7224
Investor enquiries - Andrew Efiong Tel. 020 8745 2742
Finsbury
Andrew Mitchell or Don Hunter Tel. 020 7251 3801
BAA traffic summary: August 2010
| Terminal passengers (000s) | Month | % change | Jan to Aug 2010 | % change | Sep 2009 to Aug 2010 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 6,542.5 | 2.5 | 43,376.1 | -1.6 | 65,192.0 | -0.8 |
| Stansted | 2,089.2 | -6.1 | 12,638.0 | -7.4 | 18,948.5 | -7.4 |
| London area total | 8,631.7 | 0.3 | 56,014.1 | -3.0 | 84,140.5 | -2.4 |
| Southampton | 183.5 | -1.0 | 1,183.5 | -2.3 | 1,763.1 | -3.2 |
| Glasgow | 646.4 | -9.4 | 4,344.9 | -10.9 | 6,690.4 | -9.9 |
| Edinburgh | 926.9 | -0.2 | 5,775.0 | -6.0 | 8,681.4 | -3.6 |
| Aberdeen | 258.9 | -4.0 | 1,821.7 | -8.7 | 2,827.5 | -8.0 |
| Scottish total | 1,832.2 | -4.2 | 11,941.6 | -8.2 | 18,199.3 | -6.7 |
| UK total | 10,647.4 | -0.6 | 69,139.3 | -3.9 | 104,102.9 | -3.2 |
| Naples | 627.3 | 5.8 | 3,705.2 | 4.5 | 5,449.4 | 4.4 |
| Air transport movements | Month | % change | Jan to Aug 2010 | % change | Sep 2009 to Aug 2010 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 41,016 | 3.5 | 297,992 | -3.8 | 448,279 | -3.6 |
| Stansted | 14,250 | -7.7 | 97,614 | -7.8 | 148,004 | -7.6 |
| London area total | 55,266 | 0.4 | 395,606 | -4.8 | 596,283 | -4.6 |
| Southampton | 4,092 | 7.0 | 27,495 | -0.2 | 40,502 | -3.2 |
| Glasgow | 6,520 | -1.1 | 46,264 | -8.3 | 70,083 | -9.9 |
| Edinburgh | 9,851 | 1.2 | 68,362 | -6.3 | 102,417 | -6.7 |
| Aberdeen | 8,290 | -0.9 | 60,162 | -7.1 | 92,245 | -6.5 |
| Scottish total | 24,661 | -0.1 | 174,788 | -7.1 | 264,745 | -7.5 |
| UK total | 84,019 | 0.5 | 597,889 | -5.3 | 901,530 | -5.4 |
| Naples | 6,601 | -0.9 | 43,122 | -1.6 | 63,315 | -1.5 |
| Cargo (metric tonnes) | Month | % change | Jan to Aug 2010 | % change | Sep 2009 to Aug 2010 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 127,200 | 14.3 | 974,229 | 21.2 | 1,448,739 | 15.1 |
| Stansted | 16,199 | 12.5 | 132,202 | 14.4 | 200,201 | 10.3 |
| London area total | 143,398 | 14.1 | 1,106,431 | 20.3 | 1,648,940 | 14.5 |
| Southampton | 11 | -40.1 | 55 | -58.5 | 132 | -33.4 |
| Glasgow | 303 | -5.8 | 2,562 | 45.0 | 3,507 | 23.8 |
| Edinburgh | 1,435 | -16.5 | 14,454 | -9.5 | 22,550 | 19.1 |
| Aberdeen | 520 | 37.8 | 3,417 | 0.0 | 4,921 | 4.8 |
| Scottish total | 2,259 | -6.6 | 20,433 | -3.4 | 30,978 | 17.1 |
| UK total | 145,669 | 13.7 | 1,126,918 | 19.8 | 1,680,050 | 14.5 |
| Naples | 124 | -31.3 | 1,253 | -5.4 | 1,914 | 0.8 |
Market comparison: UK airports August 2010
| Market | BAA total Aug 2009 (000s) | BAA total Aug 2010 (000s) | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK & Channel Islands | 1,722.1 | 1,687.9 | -2.0 |
| Ireland | 449.6 | 418.2 | -7.0 |
| European scheduled | 4,602.4 | 4,713.1 | 2.4 |
| European charter* | 289.3 | 286.1 | -1.1 |
| North Atlantic | 1,620.7 | 1,584.9 | -2.2 |
| Other long-haul | 2,022.4 | 1,957.3 | -3.2 |
| Total | 10,706.4 | 10,647.4 | -0.6 |
* Includes North African charter
Note: Origins and destinations are classified according to ultimate origin or destination of aircraft in the case of multi-sector flights.
Note: Figures for the market sectors have been rounded. Totals as per Traffic Summary
