Heathrow passenger numbers fall as it wins approval for third runway
Heathrow saw a fall in passenger numbers in the same month that the government approved expansion of the airport to cope with growth in demand.
The London airport handled 1.2% fewer passengers in October compared with October 2015.
The figures were released today, two weeks after the government announced it was backing Heathrow for a third runway.
The airport blamed the drop in traffic in October partly on cancellations caused by Hurricane Matthew in the US.
Overall, it handled 1.6% more flights during the month, carrying 6.48 million passengers, and cargo traffic was up 7%.
Meanwhile, Stansted enjoyed its busiest ever month, carrying 6% more passengers than in October 2015, pushing its moving annual total to more than 24 million.
Manchester Airport saw its numbers rise almost 12% year-on-year in October, pushing its rolling 12- month total to 25 million passengers for the first time in its 78-year history after 31 months of consecutive growth. The airport said it had seen the equivalent of 9.3% year on year growth, driven by a host of new long-haul routes and additional capacity on short-haul services.
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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