Foreign travellers avoiding Heathrow

By KARL WEST
Updated:

 

British Airways turned the screw on airports owner BAA by warning that overseas passengers 'avoid Heathrow'.

Its comments suggest City minister Kitty Usher was right to signal that the notorious 'Heathrow hassle' was losing the country business, as passengers choose to go elsewhere. London mayor Ken Livingstone has also said the airport ' shamed' the capital.

BA (down 14¼p at 422¼p) appeared to blame BAA for its August UK passenger traffic, which it revealed was up 5.3pc to 3.1m. The rise was well below that announced by budget Irish carrier Ryanair, which notched up 21% growth in passengers to 4.8m.

Ryanair does not operate out of Heathrow and looks to be benefiting from flying out of smaller airports like Luton and Stansted.

BA's rise is also flattered because a year ago it faced mass cancellations in the wake of the foiled bomb attack on Heathrow. The flag carrier lost 1,280 flights in eight days last August, which resulted in around 15,000 passengers not travelling with BA.

Spanish- owned BAA has been engulfed by criticism for lost baggage and long queues at Heathrow, as thousands of travellers have endured a summer of chaos at Britain's premier airport.

However, sources said it was far from clear why travellers are shunning Heathrow, saying it is important not to pin the blame wholly on BAA. British Airways' poor record on lost baggage could also be a factor.

BAA was recently fined £146,000 by the Civil Aviation Authority for the delays and poor customer service at Heathrow, bringing its total in regulatory penalties to £4m since July 2003.

The airports group has suffered a spate of defections in the midst of all the criticism, including the departure of former Heathrow chief Tony Douglas and the group's former head of security and safety, Donal Dowds.

Most watched Money videos