BAA airport passengers fall 6 percent
[November 17th 2008]
The number of passengers using BAA’s seven UK airports, which include Heathrow and Gatwick, fell by 6% in October.
The airport hardest hit by the downturn was Gatwick, where passenger numbers dropped by an alarming 10.3%. Air transport movements at Gatwick were down 5.1%. Gatwick airport traditionally relies on holiday traffic and the decline in passengers suggests that fewer people are taking holidays in the global financial crisis.
The figures are unlikely to help BAA in the sale of Gatwick. Although a number of bidders have lined up to buy the airport, the sharp decline in passenger numbers and flights is likely to mean a fall in the perceived value of the airport.
At Heathrow airport, where business travellers make up a much larger portion of the total, overall passenger numbers were down 3.7%. But passenger numbers on flights to the North Atlantic actually increased by 7.4%.
BAA’s other London airport, Stansted, which also depends to a large degree on holiday traffic, also declined. Overall passenger numbers were down by 6.3% and air transport movements by 8%.
There was a similar story at BAA’s only other airport in England, Southampton. Here passenger numbers fell by 7.4% and air transport movements by 4.4%.
In Scotland the overall fall in passenger numbers at BAA airports of 6.1% was similar to the UK total of 6%. But the figures for individual airports reveal that some held up much better than others.
The worst performer was again Glasgow, where passenger numbers dropped by 9.1% and air transport movements by 9.3%. Edinburgh airport continued to increase in popularity over Glasgow, but also saw a decline in passenger numbers of 3.2% and air transport movements of 1.9%. At Aberdeen airport passenger numbers were down 5.3% and air transport movements 6.5%.
Despite the disappointing figures BAA is optimistic about the future. “BAA remains of the view that the long-term growth prospects for aviation are good. Historically, air traffic growth recovers from short-term shocks such as those currently being played out in the financial markets, as evidenced by the growth in traffic after the Gulf wars, 9/11 and the Asian economic problems in the late 1990s and the fact that sales of commercial civilian aircraft remain buoyant,” the airport operator says in a press statement.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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