Heathrow enjoys record growth
Heathrow Airport bounced back from its pre-Christmas snow crisis last month, recording its highest January passenger numbers since 2006.
Airport operator BAA said Heathrow’s long-haul performance last month was the strongest in its history, supported by growth on routes to China and India.
In contrast, traffic at Stansted airport fell by 5.8% compared with January 2010 due to a reduction in low-cost flights. However, BAA said the underlying reduction was closer to 4.5% as last year’s passenger numbers were boosted by weather-related flight diversions.
BAA’s overall passenger numbers were up by 3.8% last month compared with January 2010, when traffic numbers fell due to bad weather.
Domestic traffic was up 8.3%, having been affected more than other markets by snow across the UK last January. European scheduled traffic was up by 2.7% and North Atlantic traffic was 3.2% higher. Other long haul routes were up by 4.5% overall, including increases of 30% on routes to China and 10% on Indian services.
Edinburgh, Glasgow and Southampton recorded increases against January 2010. Edinburgh recorded the largest increase in traffic, bolstered by new scheduled routes to Europe and North Africa.
BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said: “Passengers want quality service at our airports, from the beginning to the end of their journeys. The better we collaborate with airlines and ground handlers, the better the experience will be for customers both in normal operations and during disruption.
“We are working with all of the companies at Heathrow and elsewhere to improve passenger experience and make our airports more resilient, building strong contingency plans.
“The underlying performance of our airports is strong, reflecting an improving economic environment.
“In particular, Heathrow’s strong performance and our £5 billion investment programme is good for the British economy and for passengers. In Scotland, we can see encouraging signs of growth, reflecting investment in new routes and we are pleased to see traffic at Southampton increasing.”
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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