Scotland a bright spot for BAA as eurozone crisis hits figures

Airports operator BAA yesterday called on the UK government to build better links with growing economies such as Brazil and China as it blamed the eurozone crisis for a drop in passenger numbers.

The group said the number of fliers between Heathrow and Greece dropped 11.3 per cent in May compared with the same month a year ago, while numbers to and from Portugal were down 11.4 per cent.

Moving the late May bank holiday into June this year also reduced last month’s figures, with overall passenger numbers down 0.1 per cent.

However, its Scottish airports, which were badly affected last year by cancellations caused by the volcanic ash cloud in Iceland, fared better than those in the south of England.

Aberdeen airport saw the biggest increase, with a 15.7 per cent jump in passenger numbers compared with May 2011, followed by Glasgow with a 9.8 per cent rise.

In April, the group agreed the £807 million sale of Edinburgh airport to private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners, which also runs Gatwick and London City airports. BAA said passenger numbers at Edinburgh were up 2.2 per cent.

Chief executive Colin Matthews said: “The continued resilience of our airports in the face of economic turbulence is encouraging. But the impact of the eurozone crisis is still being felt with sharp falls in passenger numbers to the worst affected countries and reduced cargo traffic.”

BAA said cargo traffic – a key indicator of economic health – fell 2.4 per cent, despite a 52.9 per cent jump across its Scottish airports. Cargo traffic at Heathrow was down 3.8 per cent.

The group has been prevented from building a third runway at Heathrow because of environmental concerns. Matthews said it is falling behind its European rivals in the battle for lucrative routes to emerging markets.

He said: “This is why the UK needs to urgently build better links to the countries whose economies are growing, such as China, India and Brazil. But with the UK’s only hub airport, Heathrow, already full, France and Germany are forging ahead and we are being left behind.”