Busiest airports 'hit by credit crunch'
Passenger numbers at the UK's busiest airports are declining because of the effects of the credit crunch, according BAA. Stansted Airport saw a 4.7 per cent decrease, with a majority of that accounted for by a drop in European scheduled traffic, while Heathrow saw a 3.6 per cent drop, with a big reduction in European passengers of 8.1 per cent.
North of the border, Edinburgh saw a 2.9 per cent fall, while Glasgow reported the largest drop, with 11 per cent less activity.
A spokesperson for BAA said that the current financial situation should not be cause for long term concern.
"Historically, air traffic growth recovers from short-term shocks such as those currently being played out in the financial markets, as evidenced by the growth in traffic after the Gulf wars, the September 11 attacks and the Asian economic problems in the late 1990s," the spokesperson said.
Members of European Regional Airline Association have recently reported their slowest period of growth since 9/11.
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