"UK Airports Operator Enjoys Bumper Month Despite Strike"

Monday, August 11, 2003

Airports Operator Enjoys Bumper Month Despite Strike 
By Graeme Evans
United Kingdom - The Scotman


Airports operator BAA enjoyed its second busiest month ever in July despite
the impact of strike action by British Airways staff, figures showed today.

BAA's seven airports, which include Heathrow and Gatwick, carried 13.2
million passengers, an increase of 2.2% on the same month a year earlier.

The company said disruption caused by the one-day wildcat strike among BA
check-in staff had resulted in a loss of around 100,000 passengers at
Heathrow, with a more modest impact seen at Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Without the strike, BAA believed it would have carried a record number of
passengers during July, with an estimated increase of 3%.

Much of the improvement came from Stansted, where the boom in low-cost
traffic helped the airport to a 11.3% year-on-year increase to 1.9 million
people.

New scheduled services also meant a 78.6% rise in passenger numbers to
137,000 at Southampton, BAA added.

Despite the strike, Glasgow and Edinburgh achieved gains of 3.6% and 5.4%
respectively, although Heathrow dipped by 0.7% to six million people.
Gatwick's numbers grew by 0.1%, while Aberdeen fell by 1.4%.

Among major markets, domestic traffic was most affected by the strike action
but still recorded an increase of 1.9% on a month earlier.

European scheduled passenger numbers improved by 6.9%, while some of the
early season cutbacks in European charter capacity were restored in July.

The recent gradual recovery in North Atlantic traffic was set back slightly
by the strike, with a 2.9% decrease, but other long-haul routes continued to
rally following the impact of Sars and the Iraq war.

BAA said the 1.9% increase in long-haul traffic was the first monthly gain
since February.

The strike also had an impact on cargo tonnage, which fell 7.7% on a month
earlier - a decline which was also caused by technical problems at BA's
Heathrow cargo facility, BAA added.


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