BAA traffic commentary: February 2009
BAA's UK airports handled a total of 9.0 million passengers in February, a reduction of 12.5% against the same month in 2008. Roughly half of the reduction can be attributed to the adverse weather in February, and to the fact that February 2008, a leap-year, had one extra day. Following adjustments, the underlying reduction for February 2009 is 6.4%, compared to 6.3% in January.
We continue to attribute the general decline in passenger traffic to the difficult economic circumstances. An estimated 250,000 passenger movements were lost as a result of the severe weather which affected airports across the UK in the first week of the month. A further 370,000 passengers were lost because February this year contained one less day.
Heathrow’s overall result was a reduction of 9.5%, but taking account of the severe weather and the leap year, the adjusted figure is a 3.4% decline. Elsewhere in the group, airports record the following movements
| February 2009/February 2008 | Adjusted movement | |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | -16.0% | -10.6% |
| Edinburgh | -11.8% | -2.8% |
| Gatwick | -14.4% | -8.9% |
| Glasgow | -17.4% | -11.9% |
| Southampton | -20.0% | -11.8% |
| Stansted | -16.2% | -10.3% |
In total, the airports recorded a decline of 11.6% in air transport movements. Adjusting for the leap-year alone, the reduction was 8.2%. Cargo tonnage was down by 21.4% (18.8% adjusting for the leap year).
BAA traffic summary: February 2009
| Terminal passengers (000s) | Month | % change | Jan to Feb 2009 | % change | Mar 2008 to Feb 2009 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 4,370.8 | -9.5 | 9,224.0 | -5.7 | 66,348.0 | -2.4 |
| Gatwick | 1,989.4 | -14.4 | 3,970.2 | -12.7 | 33,603.5 | -4.9 |
| Stansted | 1,296.3 | -16.2 | 2,583.9 | -13.8 | 21,925.4 | -6.9 |
| London area total | 7,656.5 | -12.0 | 15,778.1 | -8.9 | 121,876.9 | -3.9 |
| Southampton | 108.5 | -20.0 | 213.8 | -16.0 | 1,910.3 | -3.1 |
| Glasgow | 421.9 | -17.4 | 862.2 | -14.8 | 7,987.1 | -8.1 |
| Edinburgh | 562.5 | -11.8 | 1,116.7 | -8.9 | 8,884.1 | -2.5 |
| Aberdeen | 204.3 | -16.0 | 416.4 | -12.4 | 3,254.4 | -5.1 |
| Scottish total | 1,188.7 | -14.6 | 2,395.3 | -11.7 | 20,125.6 | -5.2 |
| UK total | 8,953.8 | -12.5 | 18,387.2 | -9.4 | 143,912.8 | -4.1 |
| Naples | 296.6 | -15.5 | 572.9 | -18.0 | 5,476.9 | -5.7 |
| Air transport movements | Month | % change | Jan to Feb 2009 | % change | Mar 2008 to Feb 2009 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 34,356 | -7.9 | 72,284 | -5.0 | 469.374 | -1.5 |
| Gatwick | 16,200 | -11.9 | 33,701 | -10.7 | 252,307 | -2.9 |
| Stansted | 10,644 | -19.5 | 22,579 | -17.1 | 172,498 | -9.1 |
| London area total | 61,200 | -11.2 | 128,564 | -8.8 | 894,179 | -3.4 |
| Southampton | 2,687 | -15.0 | 5,471 | -13.9 | 44,015 | -5.0 |
| Glasgow | 5,128 | -15.9 | 10,645 | -14.9 | 84,896 | -8.0 |
| Edinburgh | 7,621 | -11.3 | 15,707 | -10.5 | 112,578 | -2.0 |
| Aberdeen | 7,213 | -10.3 | 14,851 | -8.0 | 101,927 | -3.0 |
| Scottish total | 19,962 | -12.2 | 41,203 | -10.9 | 299,401 | -4.1 |
| UK total | 83,849 | -11.6 | 175,238 | -9.5 | 1,237.595 | -3.7 |
| Naples | 4,084 | -9.8 | 8,253 | -10.6 | 67,571 | -6.9 |
| Cargo (metric tonnes) | Month | % change | Jan to Feb 2009 | % change | Mar 2008 to Feb 2009 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 91,046 | -17.9 | 183,626 | -15.1 | 1,367,800 | 2.4 |
| Gatwick | 6,001 | -56.9 | 11,896 | -53.5 | 94,054 | -44.3 |
| Stansted | 12,483 | -21.3 | 25,766 | -21.4 | 192,454 | -7.5 |
| London area total | 109,530 | -22.2 | 221,288 | -19.5 | 1,654,308 | -3.4 |
| Southampton | 13 | -51.9 | 27 | -55.7 | 230 | -27.8 |
| Glasgow | 139 | -60.2 | 260 | -59.8 | 3,323 | -21.3 |
| Edinburgh | 1,902 | 77.6 | 3,966 | 63.5 | 11,784 | -38.8 |
| Aberdeen | 400 | 19.4 | 810 | 23.1 | 4,251 | 8.7 |
| Scottish total | 2,441 | 39.1 | 5,036 | 35.0 | 19,358 | -29.3 |
| UK total | 111,984 | -21.4 | 226,351 | -18.7 | 1,673,896 | -3.8 |
| Naples | 163 | -22.4 | 311 | -36.4 | 2,053 | -30.8 |
Market comparison - UK airports February 2009
| Market | BAA total Feb 2008 29 day (000s) | BAA total Feb 2008 28 day (000s) | BAA total Feb 2009 28 day (000s) | % change | 28 day % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK & Channel Islands | 1,905.5 | 1,824.9 | 1,586.7 | -16.7 | -13.1 |
| Ireland | 499.2 | 478.4 | 441.9 | -11.5 | -7.6 |
| European scheduled | 4,162.5 | 4,003.8 | 3,695.8 | -11.2 | -7.7 |
| European charter* | 470.3 | 457.5 | 345.9 | -26.4 | -24.4 |
| North Atlantic | 1,143.1 | 1,099.7 | 983.9 | -13.9 | -10.5 |
| Other long haul | 2,046.7 | 1,969.9 | 1,899.6 | -7.2 | -3.6 |
| Total | 10,227.2 | 9,834.2 | 8,953.8 | -12.5 | -9.0 |
* 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.
