BAA’s UK airports handled a total of 14.9 million passengers in August, a drop of 1.7% on the same month last year. Year today BAA´s UK airports traffic shows a decline of 0.8%.
Against the backdrop of toughening economic conditions the reduction in passenger volumes so far experienced could be seen as modest.
The trend in figures year to date is driven by a decline in Domestic traffic (-5%) versus an increase in the most profitable long haul traffic ( 1%) and virtual stagnation of European flights (-0.5%).
The pattern of August traffic between key markets also followed the recently established trend with a increase in North Atlantic long haul traffic ( 1.3%) versus stagnation in European activity (-1.0%) and in Domestic traffic (-6.5%).
Traffic at Heathrow, BAA´s largest airport, remains unchanged, with a drop of just 0.2% helped by a 15.6% increase in North Atlantic traffic as a result of Open Skies.
Gatwick fell by 1.2%, where a 13.7% gain in European scheduled traffic was not enough to offset the 29.3% drop in North Atlantic traffic due to the shift of long haul traffic to Heathrow in the wake of Open Skies.
Stansted recorded a drop of 4.7%. In Scotland, Edinburgh was just 1.0% lower, but Glasgow and Aberdeen dropped by 5.2% and 5.4% respectively.
Cargo tonnage was up overall by 1.0%, with Heathrow recording an increase of 9.8%. In total BAA Group airports handled 3.0% fewer air transport movements in August.
BAA traffic summary: August 2008
| Terminal passengers (000s) | Month | % change | Year to date Jan to Aug 2008 | % change | Sep 2007 to Aug 2008 | %change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 6,365.7 | -0.2 | 45,253.3 | -0.3 | 67,716.4 | 0.7 |
| Gatwick | 3,921.7 | -1.2 | 24,026.6 | 0.9 | 35,378.0 | 2.0 |
| Stansted | 2,413.1 | -4.7 | 15,511.8 | -4.7 | 22,988.5 | -3.9 |
| London area total | 12,700.5 | -1.4 | 84,791.7 | -0.8 | 126,082.9 | 0.2 |
| Southampton | 192.3 | -5.9 | 1,341.6 | 2.1 | 1,993.6 | 2.5 |
| Glasgow | 824.1 | -5.2 | 5,584.6 | -4.6 | 8,464.5 | -3.8 |
| Edinburgh | 886.0 | -1.0 | 6,130.6 | 1.2 | 9,114.4 | 2.4 |
| Aberdeen | 299.2 | -5.4 | 2,234.1 | -2.2 | 3,382.5 | -0.4 |
| Scottish total | 2,009.2 | -3.4 | 13,949.2 | -1.7 | 20,961.3 | -0.6 |
| BAA UK total | 14,902.1 | -1.7 | 100,082.5 | -0.9 | 149,037.7 | 0.1 |
| Naples | 636.1 | -0.3 | 3,928.3 | 3.2 | 5,857.3 | 6.5 |
| Air transport movements | Month | % change | Year to date Jan to Aug 2008 | % change | Sep 2007 to Aug 2008 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 40,858 | -1.6 | 318,066 | 0.1 | 476,010 | 0.6 |
| Gatwick | 25,927 | 1.0 | 177,508 | 1.8 | 261,947 | 2.0 |
| Stansted | 16,657 | -8.0 | 122,897 | -5.9 | 183,796 | -5.0 |
| London area total | 83,442 | -2.2 | 618,471 | -0.7 | 921,753 | -0.2 |
| Southampton | 4,240 | -5.1 | 30,624 | -4.3 | 45,652 | -2.9 |
| Glasgow | 7,959 | -8.0 | 59,390 | -6.2 | 89,729 | -5.9 |
| Edinburgh | 10,163 | -1.8 | 77,608 | 0.3 | 115,334 | -0.3 |
| Aberdeen | 8,809 | -6.3 | 69,347 | -1.6 | 104,343 | -0.7 |
| Scottish total | 26,931 | -5.2 | 206,345 | -2.3 | 309,406 | -2.1 |
| UK total | 114,613 | -3.0 | 855,440 | -1.2 | 1,276,811 | -0.8 |
| Naples | 7,294 | -5.0 | 48,105 | -1.9 | 71,377 | 1.4 |
| Cargo (metric tonnes) | Month | % change | Year to date Jan to Aug 2008 | % change | Sep 2007 to Aug 2008 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 120,285 | 9.8 | 945,715 | 10.5 | 1,403,755 | 9.7 |
| Gatwick | 7,753 | -42.3 | 77,510 | -32.4 | 134,028 | -26.0 |
| Stansted | 15,989 | -13.0 | 133,660 | -2.4 | 203,311 | -3.3 |
| London area total | 144,027 | 1.9 | 1,156,885 | 4.5 | 1,741,094 | 4.2 |
| Southampton | 17 | -26.1 | 199 | 14.1 | 320 | 24.4 |
| Glasgow | 395 | 3.4 | 2,643 | -12.8 | 3,893 | -18.0 |
| Edinburgh | 524 | -69.5 | 7,285 | -41.5 | 14,940 | -32.8 |
| Aberdeen | 356 | 0.3 | 2,820 | 2.6 | 4,025 | -1.0 |
| Scottish total | 1,275 | -48.0 | 12,748 | -30.1 | 22,858 | -26.4 |
| UK total | 145,319 | 1.0 | 1,169,831 | 3.9 | 1,764,272 | 3.7 |
| Naples | 114 | -46.5 | 1,656 | -20.2 | 2,598 | -15.7 |
Market comparison - UK airports August 2008
| Market | BAA total August 2007 (000s) | BAA total August 2008 (000s) | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK & Channel Isles | 2,349.4 | 2,196.7 | -6.5 |
| Ireland | 646.3 | 632.0 | -2.2 |
| European scheduled | 6,385.7 | 6,375.5 | -0.2 |
| European charter* | 1,438.3 | 1,357.4 | -5.6 |
| North Atlantic | 2,000.5 | 2,026.3 | 1.3 |
| Other long haul | 2,343.3 | 2,314.1 | -1.2 |
| Total | 15,163.5 | 14,902.1 | -1.7 |
* includes North African charter
Note: Origins and destinations are classificed 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.
