Airport numbers down

British airport operator BAA reported a 4.1% fall in July passenger traffic on last year as Britons stayed home to watch the Olympics and tourists deferred their travel until after the Games.

BAA, owned by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, said 9.6m passengers passed through its five UK airports last month, compared with about 10m in July 2011.

Heathrow – Europe's busiest airport – handled 6.6m passengers, down 4.4% year-on-year.

"The drop was more pronounced in the second half of the month and it is likely that the Olympics played a part, with UK passengers staying at home as well as non-Olympic visitors from overseas choosing to defer their journeys", said BAA's Chief Executive Colin Matthews.

During the games Heathrow coped well, something in the region of 120,000 passengers departing on the Monday after the closing ceremony, some 6,000 athletes using a temporary facility near T4. www.baa.com

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