The number of passengers using BAA airports was down by almost a quarter last month as they were affected by the Icelandic ash cloud airspace shutdown.
Passenger traffic in April slumped by 22.7% over the same month last year, the owner of Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton and three Scottish airports reported.
BAA recorded a 21% drop in the number of air transport movements handled, with all airports reporting falls of between 15% and 25%.
The six UK airports handled a total of 6.9 million passengers.
Losses attributable to the volcanic ash cloud were estimated to be as follows :-
Passengers (000s) % of expected traffic
Heathrow 1,180 21%
Stansted 330 21%
Southampton 45 27%
Glasgow 115 22%
Edinburgh 185 26%
Aberdeen 45 20%
BAA UK Total 1,900 21.5%
by Phil Davies
