BAA figures down but difficult to compare to 2009

12th July 2010

Ash cloud followed by BA strikes and the football world cup make comparison difficult.

UK airport operator BAA have revealed that its passenger numbers fell in June because of  the BA strikes and the threat of more strikes.

Passenger numbers in BAA's airports were 1.7 per cent lower during the month of June, compared to the same period last year. BAA commented that they would have thought the footfall to be the same this year, but air crew strikes had a major bearing on the figures.

BAA flies out of  six airports in the UK - Heathrow, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton.Gatwick was sold last year for £1.5 billion.

British Airways cabin crew carried out strikes on a total of 22 days in May and June, continuing a long running dispute over pay and conditions, which has still not reached a satisfactory outcome.

The airline said recently it transported 2.57 million people last month, a drop of 11% compared with June 2009.

BAA's Glasgow airport suffered the worst decline, down 7% compared with the same month a year earlier. Clearly, a decline of this level suggests this is more to do with the Scottish economy and the confidence of the travelling public.

Unfortunately, what with the ash cloud affecting numbers in April/May it has been difficult to assess whether there has been an improvement over last year. The World cup also starting in June only ending yesterday, and this could also have had an affect.

It is important to remember 2009 figures are a long way down on 2007 when the recession first started to bite and it now looks like it will be 2011 before any significant increases are seen.