BAA traffic commentary: April 2009
- Heathrow’s resilience bolstered by increase in transfer passengers
- Evidence that traffic is stabilising, helped in April by busy Easter
- Underlying decline across the group remains in line with monthly trend
- Outlook remains challenging.
Passenger traffic at Heathrow and Edinburgh airports rose in April, driven principally by a busy Easter period.
BAA’s UK airports handled a total of 11.5 million passengers in the last month, a decrease of 2.3% on April 2008.
This improvement on the reverse seen in March (-11.3%) was largely due to the change in the timing of Easter, which this year fell in April but last year in March. Taking the two months together (to eliminate the Easter timing distortion) reveals a decline of 6.8% which is in line with the underlying monthly trend recorded since December 2008, which has been consistently between -6% and -7%.
The results for the major markets in April showed an increase of 0.7% in European scheduled traffic but a drop of 9.9% in European charters. North Atlantic and UK domestic markets both dipped by 7.6% but other long-haul routes recorded a collective increase in passengers of 1.4%.
Reflecting its role as the UK’s hub airport, Heathrow continues to prove resilient in challenging economic circumstances, with traffic during April going up by 2.6%. At Heathrow, the number of transfer passengers – which underpin the viability of many of the country’s most valuable long-haul services – rose from 33% to 38% in the first three months of 2009.
Across the three London airports, traffic declined by 1.7%, with an underlying decline (looking at March and April) of 6.8%.
Edinburgh’s traffic was up 3.9% in April, again due to a strong Easter. Gatwick recorded a drop of 3.0% and Stansted a decrease of 12.6%. Elsewhere, Glasgow was down by 11.6% and Aberdeen (which is negatively affected by the Easter period due to reduced oil-related activity) saw a 10.7% drop.
During April, the number of air transport movements across the group was 7.4% lower than last April and the decline in cargo tonnage accelerated to a decrease of 21.8%. The cargo figures are generally exaggerated by Easter falling in April since freight activity is normally reduced over the holiday period.
BAA traffic summary: April 2009
| Terminal passengers (000s) | Month | % change | Jan to Apr 2009 | % change | May 2008 to Apr 2009 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 5,612.6 | 2.6 | 20,030.2 | -4.0 | 66,074.0 | -2.5 |
| Gatwick | 2,577.7 | -3.0 | 8,866.7 | -11.5 | 33,026.2 | -7.0 |
| Stansted | 1,628.9 | -12.6 | 5,746.9 | -14.0 | 21,400.3 | -8.7 |
| London area total | 9,819.2 | -1.7 | 34,643.8 | -7.8 | 120,500.5 | -4.9 |
| Southampton | 150.4 | -13.4 | 499.5 | -14.3 | 1,868.0 | -6.3 |
| Glasgow | 569.4 | -11.6 | 1,956.0 | -13.4 | 7,834.2 | -9.5 |
| Edinburgh | 752.1 | 3.9 | 2,563.2 | -4.0 | 8,886.4 | -2.5 |
| Aberdeen | 250.7 | -10.7 | 908.0 | -10.8 | 3,203.1 | -6.3 |
| Scottish total | 1,572.1 | -4.7 | 5,427.3 | -8.7 | 19,923.7 | -6.0 |
| UK total | 11,541.8 | -2.3 | 40,570.6 | -8.0 | 142,292.2 | -5.1 |
| Naples | 446.7 | -5.4 | 1,383.6 | -13.2 | 5,393.2 | -7.6 |
| Air transport movements | Month | % change | Jan to Apr 2009 | % change | May 2008 to Apr 2009 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 38,728 | -1.5 | 150,980 | -2.4 | 469,445 | -1.3 |
| Gatwick | 19,592 | -5.1 | 72,153 | -8.8 | 249,439 | -4.3 |
| Stansted | 12,595 | -18.7 | 47,923 | -16.5 | 167,684 | -11.0 |
| London area total | 70,915 | -6.0 | 271,056 | -6.9 | 886,568 | -4.1 |
| Southampton | 3,470 | -14.4 | 12,246 | -12.0 | 43,237 | -6.6 |
| Glasgow | 6,248 | -15.1 | 22,987 | -13.9 | 83,062 | -9.4 |
| Edinburgh | 9,057 | -6.8 | 33,712 | -7.6 | 111,670 | -2.9 |
| Aberdeen | 7,948 | -10.0 | 31,060 | -6.3 | 101,138 | -3.6 |
| Scottish total | 23,253 | -10.3 | 87,759 | -8.9 | 295,870 | -5.0 |
| UK total | 97,638 | -7.4 | 371,061 | -7.6 | 1,225,675 | -4.5 |
| Naples | 5,253 | -8.1 | 18,102 | -9.5 | 66,654 | -7.7 |
| Cargo (metric tonnes) | Month | % change | Jan to Apr 2009 | % change | May 2008 to Apr 2009 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 93,171 | -23.0 | 379,760 | -16.8 | 1,323,719 | -2.6 |
| Gatwick | 5,297 | -37.1 | 23,287 | -51.1 | 83,416 | -47.7 |
| Stansted | 14,837 | -16.0 | 55,899 | -16.3 | 188,586 | -9.3 |
| London area total | 113,306 | -22.9 | 458,946 | -19.6 | 1,595,721 | -7.6 |
| Southampton | 14 | -52.0 | 57 | -51.5 | 204 | -38.0 |
| Glasgow | 190 | -47.1 | 643 | -51.5 | 3,026 | -26.9 |
| Edinburgh | 2,259 | 191.4 | 8,443 | 98.3 | 14,430 | -19.0 |
| Aberdeen | 437 | 14.9 | 1,788 | 30.1 | 4,512 | 14.0 |
| Scottish total | 2,886 | 90.5 | 10,875 | 56.3 | 21,969 | -15.2 |
| UK total | 116,206 | -21.8 | 469,878 | -18.7 | 1,617,894 | -7.7 |
| Naples | 279 | -4.5 | 692 | -35.3 | 1,853 | -36.3 |
Market comparison - UK airports April 2009
| Market | BAA total Apr 2008 (000s) | BAA total Apr 2009 (000s) | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK & Channel Islands | 2,074.9 | 1,917 | -7.6 |
| Ireland | 528.4 | 519.5 | -1.7 |
| European scheduled | 5,027.7 | 5,062.5 | 0.7 |
| European charter* | 480.8 | 433.1 | -9.9 |
| North Atlantic | 1,589.9 | 1,469.0 | -7.6 |
| Other long haul | 2,110.4 | 2,140.8 | 1.4 |
| Total | 11,812.1 | 11,541.8 | 2.3 |
* 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.
