Traffic dips at Stansted
There was a 2% drop in the number of passengers using Stansted last month compared with last February, which the airport blamed on the fact that 2015 was a leap year.
On a 28-day like-for-like basis, passenger numbers were up by 24,000, a 1.4% rise over the previous year, it said.
However, the airport also admitted that it had been affected by a temporary reduction in Ryanair capacity on some routes over the winter.
In the 12 months to February 2017, the airport handled 24.3 million passengers, a 6.1% increase over the previous year.
CEO Andrew Cowan said: "The slight drop in passenger numbers during February was anticipated due to the effects of the additional leap year day in 2016 and a temporary reduction in flight frequencies on some Ryanair routes at the tail end of the winter season as previously indicated by the airline last year.
"However, we have already seen this year Ryanair announce a host of new services and increased capacity on a range of popular routes for the summer season as well as British Airways confirming they will offer even more services from Stansted this year.
"This is in addition to Jet2.com preparing to launch its first ever flight and holiday programme in the south-east from Stansted at the end of the month, so we are extremely confident we will see strong growth return and the airport top 25 million passengers a year for the first time in the very near future."
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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