BAA airports see passenger numbers fall in May

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Both Aberdeen and Glasgow airports continued to lose passengers in May as the ongoing downturn in the aviation industry continued to negatively impact UK airports owner BAA.

For the seven UK airports operated by BAA, overall passenger traffic dropped by 7.3 per cent for the month, with only Edinburgh airport experiencing growth.

The rise of 1.4 per cent at Edinburgh constituted the second consecutive month of passenger growth at the airport, attributed largely to an increase in the number of low-cost services offered – particularly by Ryanair. The decline at Glasgow Airport was 11.7 per cent, and at Aberdeen, by 14.1 per cent.

BAA, owned by Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial, is fighting a requirement of the Competition Commission that it sell off three of its seven airports, with the auction of Gatwick airport to be followed by Stansted in London, and then either Edinburgh or Glasgow in Scotland.

The operator said that Edinburgh airport’s traffic had benefitted from a boost due to the Heineken Cup that was held at Murrayfield, attracting nearly 35,000 passengers on the day before the final.

A spokesman for BAA added: “Aberdeen and Glasgow were both affected by the drop in international and domestic traffic. However, a number of new services have launched recently from both airports, including Aberdeen to Cardiff and Dalaman, and Glasgow to Halifax, Cyprus and Dalaman.”

Thanks to www.travelmole.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

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