BAA Airports report busy April
- Heathrow and Edinburgh airports record their busiest April on record
- BAA airports saw 9.1 million passengers in the month
- Heathrow punctuality at highest ever monthly level
BAA’s six airports handled 9.1 million passengers last month, with Heathrow (5.8 million passengers) and Edinburgh (776,000 passengers) both seeing their busiest ever months of April. Heathrow also saw its highest ever April cargo tonnage (122,000). The vast majority of freight shipped through Heathrow is carried in the holds of passenger planes. The UK’s only hub airport is also the country’s largest freight port by value.
The group’s six airports saw a significant increase in traffic over last April. The underlying trend is obscured by the severe disruption in air travel in April 2010 caused by the volcanic ash cloud, by the Easter holidays falling entirely in April this year and by the extra bank holiday for the Royal Wedding. A more reliable interpretation of the year to date will be possible after the end of May when the full effects of the later holiday can be better assessed.
Business commentary and outlook
In addition to welcoming more passengers than in any previous April, Heathrow’s punctuality was at its highest ever, equalling the record previously set in October 2009. Over the Easter holiday season, Heathrow brought in more multilingual customer service agents; set up dedicated family security lanes; opened a play area and established a pre-ordering service for baby milk and food to help families have smoother journeys.
Colin Matthews, chief executive of BAA, said:
"I am delighted that more passengers departed on time from Heathrow than ever before. These figures reflect the results of our £1 billion annual investment and the commitment of 77,000 staff from 320 companies who work at the airport to improve the experience of our passengers."
Download BAA traffic statistics April 2011 (27KB PDF)
