UK airports operator BAA reported a pick-up in passenger figures today as it showed signs of recovering from the London bombings and strikes at Heathrow.
The group, whose seven sites include Heathrow and Gatwick, said it carried 13.5 million passengers in September - a 3% increase on the same month last year.
This was an improvement on its performance in July and August, when growth was hampered by the London tube attacks and the wildcat strikes that grounded the British Airways fleet at Heathrow.
Flights across the Atlantic returned to growth, increasing by 3.1% last month,while other long-haul routes saw a 8.6% rise. European charter traffic remained weak, dipping 7.4%, while UK domestic flights were 2.3% ahead of last year.
Each of BAA's UK airports recorded growth, with Stansted passenger figures up 5%, Heathrow rising 1.4% and Gatwick up 2.9%.
BAA said in a trading statement last month that the bombings and strikes would contribute to a 3% rise in passenger figures for its full financial year, compared with an original prediction of 3.5%. It recorded a rise of 2.6% in the five months to August, despite this period including its busiest months.
The firm, whose other airports are at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton, said today that a resurgence in oil industry activity and a major oil industry conference contributed to a 10% rise in traffic at Aberdeen.
Glasgow improved by 2.1% while there were 7% more passengers at Edinburgh in September. Southampton achieved a gain of 18.5% as the airport continued to attract greater usage by budget airlines.
