Britain’s major airport hubs last year recorded a 1.6 per cent increase in total passenger numbers compared to 2006, handling nearly 150 million passengers, according to BAA .
The airport body said a total of 149,953,800 travellers passed through the seven airports it operates last year.
Star performers included Heathrow, where passenger numbers rose 67.8 million from 2006 (up by 3.2 per cent), followed by Gatwick (2.7 per cent rise) and Southampton airport (2.6 per cent).
However, other UK airports such as Stansted, Glasgow and Aberdeen all experienced a dip in passenger numbers last year compared with 2006.
As expected, Christmas proved to be a hectic time for airports and airlines . Low cost airline Ryanair saw passenger numbers increase by a massive 18 per cent in December compared to the previous year, while total passenger numbers rose to 3.96 million people from 3.36.
Rival budget airline easyJet also recorded a rise in passengers over the festive period, with total numbers up 9.9 per cent on December 2006 to 2.64 million. The airline carried a total of 38.2 million passengers (13.5 per cent rise) in 2007 thanks to its introduction new flights from various UK airports .
However, easyJet was also hit by an increase in the number of empty seats on its flights throughout the year, with the percentage of seats filled dropping from 84.6 per cent in 2006 to 83.5 per cent in 2007.
 |
 |
|
|
BAA Report Rise In Passenger Numbers At UK Airports Thu, 10 Jan 2008      Recommended linksGlobal travel portalUK Airports Searching For Your Holiday BAA airports Holiday insurance quote BAA To Meet Demand For More Self-Service Kiosks in Airports BAA May Be Fined For Long Airport Delays BAA Announces Increase In Passengers Using UK Airports |
||
 |
 |
| Travel news |
|---|
| 14th Dubai Shopping Festival To Take Place Next Month - Wed, 19 Nov 2008 |
| Rail Passengers Set To Suffer Network Closures This Christmas - Tue, 18 Nov 2008 |
| Eurostar Reveals Huge Passenger Growth - Mon, 17 Nov 2008 |
| More News |