British Airports Authority Continues Feeling the Economic Crisis

The seven airports owned by the British Airports Authority in the United Kingdom are still feeling the pinch from the economic environment, having 1 million less passengers during last month in comparison to last year. Among the biggest hit in the British Airports Authority’s portfolio was Gatwick Airport and Stansted Airport, which both had passenger numbers down by 13.2%.

The British Airports Authority says that all of their key markets have been hit, mostly by the economic spiral. Most significantly hit is charter traffic in Europe, which dropped 17%. The Bangkok demonstrations by protesters, along with an Air France strike, contributed to the falling figures as well. Overall figures for the airports fell from 10.8 million to 9.8 million, which represents an 8.9% decline.

Domestic traffic fell by 12.7%, scheduled traffic in Europe fell by 9.1%, and there was also a 9.2% fall in North Atlantic routes. However, the downturn was withstood better by other long-haul routes, which were only down by 3.1%. The new Open Skies agreement was blamed by the company for the Gatwick Airport slump, along with other carrier contractions.

The company said that the passenger numbers in Glasgow declined by 15.6% in comparison to November last year. Edinburgh was down by 7.8% and Aberdeen saw a 11.5% drop. In a statement, the British Airports Authority said that they anticipate that the prospects for growth in the long-term will continue to be good and that the volume of passengers will recover based on evidence from historic economic crises and their effects on air traffic.

Go to www.baa.com for more company information.