BAA traffic commentary: November 2008
BAA’s seven UK airports handled a total of 9.8 million passengers during November compared to a figure of 10.8 million last year (a drop of 8.9%). Although the underlying trend has worsened with the start of the reduced winter schedule, the November results were further affected by an industrial dispute causing cancellations of Air France services in mid-month and cancellations of long haul services late in the month as a result of the closure of Bangkok’s International airport.
Year to date, BAA’s UK airport traffic shows a decline of 2.4% for the eleven months to November at a total of 134.64 million.
All key markets were affected, the most significant being a drop of 17.0% in European charter traffic at what is normally the market’s quietest period. Domestic traffic was down by 12.7%, European scheduled by 9.1% and North Atlantic by 9.2%. Least affected were other long haul services where the market was down by 3.1%.
Among individual airports, Heathrow (-4.8%) was most resilient, partly because of the continuing effects of additional US services as a result of Open Skies and partly because of its greater share of the stronger long haul markets.
Gatwick (-13.5%) felt the negative impacts of Open Skies and further airline contractions. Stansted (-13.2%) also experienced the effects of airline service cutbacks. In Scotland there were falls of 15.6% at Glasgow, 11.5% at Aberdeen and 7.8% at Edinburgh.
In total BAA’s airports recorded a drop in air transport movements (9.0%) which almost precisely matched the resulting drop in passenger volumes. Air cargo tonnage dropped by 6.1% across the board but Heathrow recorded an increase of 1.0% in tonnage handled.
BAA expects, on the evidence of historic economic downturns and the resulting effect on air traffic, that the long-term prospects for growth remain good and that passenger volumes will recover in due course.
BAA traffic summary: November 2008
| Terminal passengers (000s) | Month | % change | Jan to Nov 2008 | % change | Dec 2007 to Nov 2008 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 4,971.8 | -4.8 | 61,658.2 | -1.3 | 67,033.2 | -1.0 |
| Gatwick | 1,977.5 | -13.5 | 32,088.6 | -2.0 | 34,512.2 | -1.7 |
| Stansted | 1,347.4 | -13.2 | 20,935.0 | -5.5 | 22,547.5 | -5.7 |
| London area total | 8,296.7 | -8.4 | 114,681.8 | -2.3 | 124,092.8 | -2.1 |
| Southampton | 134.7 | -9.7 | 1,824.9 | -0.5 | 1,958.2 | -0.3 |
| Glasgow | 512.9 | -15.6 | 7,671.0 | -6.6 | 8,192.7 | -6.5 |
| Edinburgh | 638.7 | -7.8 | 8,386.6 | -0.4 | 9,008.9 | -0.1 |
| Aberdeen | 240.7 | -11.5 | 3,075.7 | -3.5 | 3,321.0 | -3.4 |
| Scottish total | 1,392.4 | -11.5 | 19,133.3 | -3.4 | 20,522.7 | -3.3 |
| UK total | 9,823.8 | -8.9 | 135,640.0 | -2.4 | 146,573.7 | -2.2 |
| Naples | 319.8 | -16.4 | 5,293.5 | -1.2 | 5,672.5 | -0.4 |
| Air transport movements | Month | % change | Jan to Nov 2008 | % change | Dec 2007 to Nov 2008 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 37,737 | -3.2 | 436,058 | -0.4 | 474,021 | -0.1 |
| Gatwick | 16,315 | -11.5 | 239,075 | -0.3 | 258,160 | -0.0 |
| Stansted | 11,379 | -16.3 | 165,922 | -6.9 | 179,247 | -7.0 |
| London area total | 65,431 | -7.9 | 841.055 | -1.7 | 911,428 | -1.5 |
| Southampton | 3,194 | -11.7 | 41,893 | -4.5 | 45,062 | -4.1 |
| Glasgow | 5,932 | -14.9 | 81,180 | -7.1 | 87,403 | -7.2 |
| Edinburgh | 8,526 | -9.3 | 106,312 | -0.5 | 114,612 | -0.4 |
| Aberdeen | 7,755 | -11.9 | 95,307 | -2.5 | 103,028 | -2.5 |
| Scottish total | 22,213 | -11.8 | 282,799 | -3.1 | 305,043 | -3.2 |
| UK total | 90,838 | -9.0 | 1,165,747 | -2.2 | 1,261,533 | -2.0 |
| Naples | 4,279 | -12.2 | 64,589 | -4.4 | 69,327 | -4.0 |
| Cargo (metric tonnes) | Month | % change | Jan to Nov 2008 | % change | Dec 2007 to Nov 2008 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 117,621 | 1.0 | 1,300,358 | 8.2 | 1,412,656 | 8.9 |
| Gatwick | 7,623 | -47.5 | 100,876 | -35.7 | 115,286 | -33.2 |
| Stansted | 16,535 | -10.1 | 185,551 | -2.9 | 200,977 | -3.0 |
| London area total | 141,779 | -5.1 | 1,586,785 | 2.4 | 1,728,919 | 3.1 |
| Southampton | 14 | -62.2 | 251 | -4.8 | 283 | -2.3 |
| Glasgow | 263 | -22.9 | 3,502 | -13.5 | 3,732 | -16.1 |
| Edinburgh | 584 | -71.7 | 9,356 | -49.7 | 10,849 | -45.5 |
| Aberdeen | 271 | -17.9 | 3,818 | 2.9 | 4,059 | 1.2 |
| Scottish total | 1,118 | -59.1 | 16,676 | -36.8 | 18,640 | -34.3 |
| UK total | 142,911 | -6.1 | 1,603,711 | 1.8 | 1,747,841 | 2.5 |
| Naples | 123 | -6.1 | 2,125 | 1.8 | 2,376 | 2.5 |
Market comparison - UK airports November 2008
| Market | BAA total November 2007 (000s) | BAA total November 2008 (000s) | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK & Channel Islands | 2,154.2 | 1,879.7 | -12.7 |
| Ireland | 532.0 | 489.5 | -8.0 |
| European scheduled | 4,274.2 | 3,883.5 | -9.1 |
| European charter | 327.3 | 271.8 | -17.0 |
| North Atlantic | 1,412.0 | 1,282.3 | -9.2 |
| Other long haul | 2,082.4 | 2,017.0 | -3.1 |
| Total | 10,782.1 | 9,823.8 | -8.9 |
* 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.
Notes: Figures for the market sectors have been rounded. Totals as per Traffic Summary.
