United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Weak charter results reported by BAA
The number of passengers taking European charter flights from BAA airports was down in May.
The airports operator, reporting May traffic figures, said charter passenger dropped 13% year on year.
This decline was offset by improved scheduled airline passenger growth across the group’s seven airports.
Overall passenger numbers were up 7.8% in May to 11.7 million against 11.4 million in May 2003. The increase was fuelled by a rise in long haul travel and a recovery in traffic from London Heathrow.
BAA said: “Heathrow recovered well from its depressed figures a year ago. At all other BAA airports, strong scheduled traffic growth was more than sufficient to offset weak charter results.”
Numbers on Norh Atlantic routes were up by more than 18% while long haul routes showed overall growth of almost 25% against the same period last year when growth was depressed by the SARS outbreak.
Passenger numbers were up 2.9% at Gatwick and 6.8% at Stansted during May.
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
Dozens fall ill in P&O Cruises ship outbreak
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Foreign Office issues travel advisory for winter sun destinations